Ancient Clay Seals That Could Re-Write Hittite History Discovered In Kayalıpınar, Turkey

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - A fascinating archaeological discovery has been made in the ancient city of Kayalipinar, Turkey. Archaeologists report unearthing ancient clay seal impressions that could re-write the history of the Hittites.

Kayalipinar was once an important place to the Hittites. Credit: Ingeborg Simon - CC BY-SA 3.0

The Hittites were once one of the most powerful ancient civilizations that occupied the ancient region of Anatolia.

This long-gone culture is of major interest to archaeologists and historians, but piecing together the history of the Hittites is a challenge. In recent years, archaeologists have unearthed highly significant finds that offer a more comprehensive historical picture of  the Hittites.

Scientists have been excavating in Kayalipinar, a village in Yildizeli District in Sivas Province, since 2005.  The place is a significant Hittite site where several intriguing discoveries have been made.

Among the many findings, it is worth mentioning scientists found, for example, a white limestone block depicting a seated femality deity with a cone-shaped headpiece holding a drinking cup in one hand and a bird in the other. "The legs of the chair are shaped like lion paws.

Image credit: Andreas Müller-Karpe, Kayalipinar Excavation Archive

The block has been moved to the Sivas Museum. A replica has been placed at the original site. A date in the early 13th century BCE or earlier has been suggested. A fragment of the rear end of a lion as well as several smaller pieces made of the same white limestone, which were found in secondary use in later period structures, are similarly dated." ¹

The Anadolu Agency now reports that Dr. Çigdem Maner, Associate Professor of Koç University Department of Archeology and Art History, has been working with international scientists, and the team is making valuable progress at the excavation site.

The excavations carried out this year proved that Kayalipinar was the thousand-year-old center of the Hittites.

"Kayalipinar was previously known as a settlement from the Old Assyrian and Hittite periods. This year's findings and architecture show that this settlement is actually much older and dates back to even later periods. We could understand that it lasted for about 1,000 years. These excavations prove that Kayalipinar was the center of millennia," Dr. Maner told the Anadolu Agency

Scientists have unearthed ancient seal impressions of King Hattusili III, his children, his wife and princes, as well as clay seal prints belonging to the King's eldest son, Crown Prince Nerikaili. Archaeologists also found pieces of cuneiform tablets with inscriptions of festivals and fortune-telling texts.

Archaeologists Found Seal Impressions That Could Change Hittite History

"During the excavations we carried out in the areas, both important architectural remains and important finds were revealed. In one of our trenches, we were able to understand the stratigraphy of this excavation. Seal impressions that could change the Hittite history are among our most important finds. These seals are printed on clay and can survive until today.

Scientists found seal impressions that could change Hittite history. Credit: Serhat Zafer/AA

Especially very important seal impressions belonging to the period of Hattusili III, his wife, children, and the royal family. As a result of consultations and discussions, we want to define the building where these are located as the Imperial Archive. We see that there is a very important Hittite imperial archive in Kayalipinar," Dr. Maner told the Anadolu Agency.

"No religious building has been found yet, but most of the texts are religious. Therefore, in our future work, we want to unearth religious structures and also find some political texts. When we look at the Bogazköy archives, we see that very important political texts have also emerged. Two new Hittite structures were unearthed in our excavations this year."

Based on the plan and the findings, scientists have reasons to assume the buildings served as temples. One of the ceramic vessels had the name the third Hittite king engraved.

Rock relief of King Hattusili III. Credit: Krähenstein - CC BY-SA 3.0

A burning shelf was in the area where researchers found the seal impressions.  "There were clay particles at the end of the rope they wrapped around the wooden tablets used in the Hittite period, and they stamped the seals on those pieces of clay. Those seals have survived to the present day, but the wooden tablets have survived to the present day in the form of ashes because they were burned," Dr. Maner explained.

See also: More Archaeology News

Future excavations of the Hittite Kayalipinar site can provide more answers, revealing the importance of this ancient place.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer