Cuneiform Tablet Unearthed In Hittite City Samuha Refers To Love And War Goddess Sausga

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - The cuneiform tablet unearthed in the Hittite city of Samuha points to the connection with the famous temple of the Goddess Sausga (also known as Šauška (Shaushka).

The relief depicting the love and war goddess Sausga from the sacred site of Yazilikaya near Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites. Image credit: IHA

The Hurrians associated her with Nineveh, famous (among others) for its huge library and two temples dedicated to Ishtar. However, the goddess Sausga  was also worshiped in many other centers associated with this culture, from Anatolian cities in Kizzuwatna, through Alalakh and Ugarit in Syria, and other places in northeastern Mesopotamia. She was also worshiped in southern Mesopotamia, where she was introduced alongside a number of other foreign deities in the Ur III period. In this area, she came to be associated with Ishtar.

At a later point in time, growing Hurrian influence on Hittite culture resulted in the adoption of Šauška into the Hittite state pantheon.

The ancient city of Samuha, located within the boundaries of Kayalıpınar Village in the Yıldızeli District of Sivas Province, Türkiye, was once an ancient settlement near the village of Kayali Pinar (Kayalipinar), c. 40 km west of Sivas, in the Sivas Province, Türkiye.

It was the Hittites' religious center, and, for a few years, it also functioned as a military capital for the empire.

Ruins of ancient city of Samuha.  Photo credit: IHA

Archaeologist Dr. Emre Kuruçayırlı from the excavation team informed that the site has many artifacts from different periods, and interestingly, the excavation site is a convergence point of these different eras.

“Here, we have found remains of structures belonging to the Hittites, remnants of a Roman-era road, and despite being damaged, we are discovering typical Byzantine mosaic remnants.

Finally, we have also uncovered an artifact from the Seljuk period.”

The excavation works are conducted under the leadership of Associate Professor Dr. Çiğdem Maner, a faculty member at Koç University, and during this year’s excavations, several clay tablets belonging to the Hittite archives were discovered along with a seal impression attributed to Hattusili III, a king of the Hittite empire around 1267–1237 BC, according to the source.

Photo credit: IHA

He was an interesting historical figure in the Hittite history; he led the Hittite forces in the Battle of Kadesh against Egypt in 1274 BC. Hattusili and the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II later made a peace treaty. This is the earliest treaty which has survived to the present day, according to the records.

The city of Samuha is frequently mentioned in written sources found in Boğazköy (Hattusa) and it also appears in cuneiform tablets written in Old Assyrian, which were discovered in Kültepe.

Archaeologists say that the religious content found on the cuneiform tablet has strengthened the possibility that it may be related to the famous lost temple dedicated to the Hittite Goddess Sausga in the ancient city and the region.

The goddess Sausga was the highest-ranking goddess in the Hurrian pantheon. She was associated with love and war, magic, and, consequently, healing. As the Hurrian influence increased in Hittite religion, her name began to appear frequently in Hittite religious texts.

“We had a typical Hittite entry gate structure here with two damaged walls extending towards it,” he stated.

Archaeologist Dr. Emre Kuruçayirli. Image credit: IHA

Just two days before the end of the excavation, we found two discoveries that prove this structure’s Hittite origin. One of them was a fragment of a cuneiform tablet.

The text is in Hittite and talks about something very important. It mentions a very high number of cattle. Our linguists interpret it as either 120 or 1200 cattle, which is quite a significant number for normal trade. The name of this city is Samuha, and this name is constantly associated with a goddess in Hittite records.

See also: More Archaeology News

There is a temple dedicated to this goddess here, the goddess Sausga. We believe that these cattle were an offering to the temple of Sausga. We think that such a high number of cattle is related to the temple. In the upcoming season, we will excavate the remaining part of this structure that we partially uncovered, and we believe it may be the famous temple of Sausga.”

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer