The Ain Dara Lion

Re-erected in its present location by the Japanese archaeologists who excavated the site of Ain Dara, is a beautiful example of a guardian lion carved from basalt. Once one of a pair, this lion would have stood guard at either side of the main entrance into the temple. The rendering of this lion is done in a typically Hittite manner showing the close connection between these Neo-Hittite sites and the Hittite heartland (although the major Hittite cities in Anatolia had collapsed by this stage).