a message and a prayer are written on it – photo
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In Turkey, archaeologists unearthed a clay tablet about 3,300 years old, on which it is written about the invasion of four cities.
The find was discovered on the territory BuklYukale is a settlement that existed in ancient times Hittite Empire in 1800-1180 BC, writes Arkeonews.
The tablet, the size of an adult’s palm, was found in May 2023 by Kimiyoshi Matsumura, an archaeologist from the Japan Institute of Anatolian Archaeology.
They found 70 lines written on it cuneiform – logo-syllabic writing, which was used for writing in ancient times region in Asia – Mezhiricci, also known as Mesopotamia.
Büklükale consists of two archaeological zones – “Lower City” and “Upper City”
According to the translation Associate Professor of the Faculty of Ancient Near Eastern Languages, University College London, Mark Weeden, the first six lines of the cuneiform are written in the Hittite language.
“Four cities, including the capital of Hattus, are in a state of disaster”– it is stated in the first paragraphs of the text.
The remaining 64 lines contain a prayer in the Hurrian language asking for victory.
“The prayer glorifies God and his divine ancestors, and also repeatedly mentions the problems of communication between gods and people.
Further – several persons are listed who appear to have been enemy kings. The prayer concludes with a request for divine counsel”– said Matsumura.
The message refers to an invasion during a civil war in the Hittite kingdom, and the author of the text expresses his support for one of the enemy factions, researchers say.
At the same time, the invasion, which is written on the clay tray, has nothing to do with the end of the Hittite Empire.
According to Matsumura, the tablet dates to the reign of the Hittite king Tudhaliya II (approximately between 1380 and 1370 BC) – about 200 years before the decline of the Late Bronze Age.
“It comes from a period of civil war, which we know about from other Hittite texts. At this time, Hittite lands were invaded from many different directions at once and many cities were temporarily destroyed.”– explains the Japanese archaeologist.
Kimiyoshi Matsumura also suggested that if the Hittites, who at that time lived in BuklYukali, used the Hurrian language for religious ceremonies, the tablet may be a record of a sacred ritual.
“If this is the case, then the religious ritual at Byklukale was performed by a Hittite king. This indicates that, at the very least, a Hittite king came to Byklukale and performed the ritual.”– reported Matsumura in a Live Science commentary.
Hurrian writing is known to be a prayer addressed to the storm god Teshshob, who was the head of the Hittite and Hurrian pantheons.
Hurrian was spoken during the existence of the Hittite Empire – 1400-1190 BC.
The decline of the Hittite Empire was influenced by several factors at once, including civil war, climate change and attacks by the Sea Peoples, the Cascadians, the Phrygians and the Mycenaean Greeks, the scientists added.
It is noted that earlier during excavations in Byuklukal only broken clay tablets were found. The condition of this plate is almost perfect.
Bukl territoryYukaly is located 100 km from the current capital of Turkey, Ankara. It is believed that Buklthere was a yucca the first settlement of Cimmerians in Anatolia – this the historical name of the interior regions of Asia Minor, which are now parts of Turkey.
We used to reportedthat in Italy archaeologists have excavated the remains of a Roman city.
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