Hattusa

• Hattusa was the capital city of the Hittite Empire (1700-1200 BCE) whose ruins lie in the village of Bogazkale, 121 miles (194km) east of Ankara in Turkey.
• The city was rebuilt in 1,700 BCE, over an earlier city that had been burnt, and lasted until c. 1,200 BCE.

Archeological Site of Hattusa at Bogazkale

• • The outline of the circuit of walls and temples is visible.
    • The city had an inner wall and an outer wall with a circuit over 4.5 miles (7 km) long.
  • Walls
    • A section of the walls has been reconstructed.
  • Two giant Sphinxes
    • located in one of the city gates.
    • A pair of sphinxes found at another gate are now in the Bogazkale Museum.
  • 30,000 Cuneiform Tablets
    • The Tablets excavated here are now housed in the Ankara Archeological Museum and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.
  • The Green Stone in the Great Temple.
  • The narrow entrance tunnel.
  • The stones with cylindrical holes.

Museums

• Bogzakale Museum
  • This museum is next to the site of Hattusa, and houses many of the Finds from Hattusa.
• Istanbul Archaeology Museums
  • Istanbul
  • Holds part of the 30,000 Cuneiform Tablet Archive from Hattusa.
  • Holds the tablets which describe the Peace Treaty after the Battle of Kadesh
• Ankara Archeological Museum
  • This museum also holds part of the Cuneiform Tablet Archive.

The Mysteries of Hattusa

• The Green Stone:
  • In the Great Temple ruins lies a cuboid Green Stone, whose function is unknown.
• The cylindrical holes:
  • Many stones in the city have perfectly drilled cylindrical holes, that serve no known purpose.
• The narrow entrance tunnel:
  • An impressive giant rampart has part of the southern wall built on it. Built into the rampart is a very narrow entrance tunnel 230 ft (70 m) long.
• The Hittite language:
  • Hittite is found in two scripts, the Luwian Cuneiform Tablets and the Luwian Hieroglyphs.
  • It is not known whether these are two branches of the same Hittite language or derive from separate languages.
• The Reason for its Destruction:
  • The city was destroyed c.1,200 BCE, at the same time as many other cities were destroyed in the Levant, but the method of destruction and by whom is unknown.

The Cuneiform Tablets

• 30,000 Cuneiform tablets were discovered in the ruins, along with 3,000 seals.
• The tablets are now housed in the Ankara Archeological Museum and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.
• The tablets contain the royal archives, correspondence, contracts, laws, ceremonies and a famous peace treaty with Egypt, from the Battle of Kadesh (c.1274 BCE).
• The Double Headed Eagle symbol appears on some cylindrical seals dating from c. 1600-600 BCE. This seems to have been the symbol of the Hittite kings.

The Ruins of Hattusa, Turkey