Hittite archaeology

Abstract. The Hittite cuneiform texts, especially spells and rituals, are characterized by various ritual actions. In this case, we will focus on the use of saliva/spit in the form of "spit, spit towards, spit  into,  spit  out,  spit  upwards,  spit  on".  The  Hittites  used  it  as  a  means  of  spiritual  cleansing, protection,  medicinal  purposes  and  when  taking  oaths.  The  Hittites  believed  in  the  healing properties  of  saliva/spit  and  believed  that it  had  the  power  to  eliminate  evil  influences,  remove impurities and cleanse negative energies. It is important that the findings of the people of the world are confirmed by modern medical research, especially about the antimicrobial, wound healing and antiseptic properties of saliva, as well as the protective function of the immune system. Every action of  the  Hittites  that  appears  in  rituals  and  incantations  is  very  important  and  contains  important information and was not only based on beliefs and ideas, but also obviously had a practical purpose.

Keywords. Assyriology, Hittitology, Hittites, ritual, purification, treatment, saliva, spit, spitting.

The Late Hittite period is marked by the emergence of independent city-states in southern and southeastern Anatolia following the collapse of the Hittite Empire. This cultural heritage not only preserved Hittite traditions but also incorporated artistic and ritualistic elements influenced by Assyrian and Aramean cultures, creating a richly diverse legacy. Banquet scenes from this era offer crucial insights into the social, religious, and ritualistic life of the time. These scenes are often depicted on stone reliefs, seals, and valuable objects. They commonly portray kings and queens seated at lavishly adorned tables, surrounded by attendants and accompanied by
musicians. Significant examples of such depictions can be found in regions like Karatepe, Zincirli, and Karkamış. For instance, the reliefs from Zincirli depict a king seated on a throne, holding a goblet, with an array of sumptuous dishes displayed before him. Additionally, scenes from Tell Tayinat highlight sacrificial ceremonies and feasts dedicated to the gods. The artistic style of these works reveals a progression from traditional Hittite motifs to Assyrian influences. Early depictions feature cross-legged tables and characteristic Hittite styles, while later scenes display rectangular tables and motifs inspired by Assyrian art. These banquet scenes serve not only as artistic expressions but also as visual documentation of social hierarchy, religious beliefs, and cultural transformations. The banquet scenes of the Late Hittite period provide invaluable insights into the social structure, religious practices, and intercultural dynamics of the time, making them essential resources for archaeological and historical research.

The individual and societal trauma created by the February 6th Kahramanmaraş earthquakes that affected the major cities of Southeastern Türkiye and Syria are far beyond the devastating destruction, particularly at Antakya, where almost every structure was damaged. Thus, in line with the re-building of the cities affected by the earthquakes, multi-layered individual and societal healing processes must therefore be planned. This study presents the initial results of the sustainable cultural heritage initiative aimed at preserving the mudbrick monuments within the research excavations conducted by the Tell Atchana, Alalakh Excavations, where numerous team members were personally impacted by the earthquakes. The capital city of the Kingdom of Mukish serves as the focal point of this preservation effort. The restoration efforts following the earthquake at a forgotten heritage site near the Turkish-Syrian border, influenced by socio-political changes, environmental shifts, and a natural catastrophe in a region with a century-old research history, are showcased, with a focus on remembering, embracing and healing archaeology endeavors.

This is a detective story of how the Bronze Age was murdered. During the investigation, eyewitnesses are interviewed, and evidence is secured in many different countries. Little by little, the pieces of the puzzle come together to form a surprisingly coherent picture. The perpetrators appear to have been convicted. But now the investigator has to wait and see whether the evidence presented is sufficient for the judges to convict.

The aim of this book is to provide new insights on the multi-faceted topic of the relationships between ancient Greece and ancient Anatolia before the Classical era. This is a rapidly evolving field of enquiry, thanks to the recent advances in our understanding of the Anatolian languages and the ever-growing availability of primary evidence.

The chapters in this volume investigate the question of Graeco-Anatolian contacts from various points of view and with a specifically linguistic and textual focus. The nature of the evidence calls for an interdisciplinary approach, and the contributions presented here range from writing systems to contact linguistics, without excluding the analysis of cultural motifs and religious practices in both literary texts and non-literary evidence.

The most controversial archaeological data of Millawanda, whose name we learned from Late Bronze Age Hittite sources, is its defensive architecture. Sharing the results of the studies carried out by A. von Gerkan, C. Weickert, A. Mallwitz and W. Schiering with the scientific world with striking interpretations has brought about many problems. The first of the researchers defined the defense plan by mixing the ruins of the Temple of Athena, which was intertwined with the defensive architecture. The second claimed to have found the remains of the parapet (protection wall) of the city wall. Third, he stated that there were bastion structures adjacent to the city wall, regardless of the tower / bastion distinction, and that the city wall was built with a casemate plan. The fourth stated that the city wall was planned as a cabinet wall with vertical walls extended between the walls. Another serious problem arose when all this specific and verifiable information was used without questioning by researchers who compared Millawanda’s defenses with the defense architecture of different cities. Because the data of those who shared their specific findings regarding the defense of Millawanda also seem to be related to the Hittite defense architecture. In addition, trying to explain these different data only through Mycenaean is another controversial problem. Therefore, the aim of this study is to question the specific data put forward regarding the Millawanda defense architecture, to clarify these controversial and chronic data and to reveal the ignored ones.

Adını Geç Tunç Çağı Hitit kaynaklarından öğrendiğimiz Millawanda’nın en tartışmalı arkeolojik verisi savunma mimarisidir. A. von Gerkan, C. Weickert, A. Mallwitz ve W. Schiering’in yürüttüğü çalışmaların sonuçlarının çarpıcı yorumlarla bilim dünyası ile paylaşılması birçok sorunu da beraberinde getirmiştir. Araştırmacılardan ilki, savunma mimarisiyle iç içe olan Athena Tapınağı kalıntılarını birbirleriyle karıştırarak savunma planını tanımlamıştır. İkincisi, kent suruna ait parapet (koruma duvarı) kalıntıları bulduğunu ileri sürmüştür. Üçüncüsü, kule / bastion farkını gözetmeden surla bitişik bastion yapılarının bulunduğunu ve surun kazamat planlı olarak inşa edildiğini belirtmiştir. Dördüncüsü, surların arasında dikey duvarların uzatılmasıyla surun kutu sur veya sandık sur şeklinde planlandığından bahsetmiştir. Tüm bu spesifik ve kanıtlanması gereken bilgilerin, Millawanda’nın savunmasını farklı kentlerin savunma mimarisiyle karşılaştıran araştırmacılar tarafından sorgulanmadan kullanılmasıyla ortaya ciddi bir sorun daha çıkmıştır. Çünkü Millawanda’nın savunmasına ilişkin spesifik bulgularını paylaşanların verileri, Hitit savunma mimarisiyle de ilgili görünmektedir. Ayrıca bu farklı verileri sadece Myken üzerinden açıklamaya çalışmak da tartışma yaratan bir diğer sorundur. Dolayısıyla bu çalışmanın amacı Millawanda savunma mimarisine ilişkin öne sürülen spesifik verileri sorgulamak, bu tartışmalı ve kronik verileri açıklığa kavuşturmak ve göz ardı edilenleri ortaya koymaktır.

Güncel Anadolu toplumunun; sosyal, ekonomik, kültürel ve teknik dünyasında Anadolu geçmişinin etkilerini görmek kaçınılmazdır. Hititlerde Anadolu geçmişinin ilk siyasi birliği olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Günümüzden 4000 yıl önce Anadolu’ya gelerek buradaki yerleşik Hatti kültürü ile kaynaşan ve gelişen süreçte Mezopotamya ve Hurri kültürlerini de özümseyen kozmopolit bir kültür yapısına ulaşan Hititlerden günümüzde etkileri hala yaşayan bir takım gelenek/ritüellerin geçtiğini arkeolojik ve filolojik materyallerle tanımlayabiliyoruz. 
Öncelikle aradaki uzun zaman farkına rağmen Hitit kültür yansımalarını görmek şaşırtıcı olmamalıdır. Aynı coğrafyada ve bu coğrafyanın getirdiği iklimsel ve fiziksel (topografik) koşullarda yaşayan insanların aralarında etnik bir bağ olsun ya da olmasın kültürlerin yansıması
ve bunların izinin güncel toplumsal yaşamda görülebilmesi yüksek olasılık içermektedir. Aynı akarsuların kenarında yaşamış, aynı dağlarda, yaylalarda hayvancılık yapmış, tarım toplumu olabilmiş; bu amaçlara yönelik coğrafyanın getirdiği zorunluluklar çözümleyebilmiş; aynı mevsim döngülerini yaşamış ve yeri geldiğinde aynı doğal afetleri yaşamış insan
topluluklarındaki kültürel etkileşimin uzun soluklu olması kaçınılmazdır.
Bu vize ödevi çalışması ile Hitit kültürünün çok yönlü olarak günümüz Anadolu coğrafyasına yansımaları ve günümüz kültürü ile bağlantıları ve benzerlikleri üzerinde durulacaktır. Biz ve Hititler arasındaki bu doğal ve ortak Anadolu yaşantısı kaynaklı bağlantıdan önce, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ve yeni kurulan bu ulusal yapının geçmişini Anadolu’da aramasının bir sonucu olarak Hititlerin güncel yaşantımızla iç içe olduğunu söyleyebiliriz. Bugün Anıtkabir’in girişindeki Aslanlı yoldaki, Karkamış Geç Hitit Dönemine
ait aslanlara benzeyen1 Hitit Aslanları hem gücü hem de barışı korumayı simgeleyerek Atatürk’ün Anadolu geçmişinin aydınlatılması üzerine katkılarına selam dururcasına inşa edilmişlerdir. Cumhuriyetimizin kurumlarına isim veren (Etibank gibi), yediğimiz bisküvilerin
markasından, içilen sigaraların paketlerine kadar; hatta yaşadığımız semtlere (Etiler gibi) isim veren bu uygarlık; Cumhuriyet dönemine ön plana çıkartılmaya çalışılmıştır. Günümüzde Hitit kazıları popülerliğini sürdürerek devam etmekte, Hitit anıtları ve yerleşimleri Türk Arkeolojisinde önemini yıllardır korumaktadır. Hitit eserleri tüm Anadolu müzelerinin en
önemli eser grupları olarak değer görmektedir.

Çalışmamızda Karanovo kültürünün coğrafi özellikleri ve kronolojisi ve
diğer çağdaş Balkan kültürleri ile karşılaştırılması hedeflenmektedir. Karanovo Kültürünün coğrafyasına bakacak olursak, Trakya bölgesinde
tanımlanabildiğini görebilmekteyiz. Trakya bölgesi, Balkan yarımadasının Anadolu’ya uzanan doğu ucunda; günümüz Bulgaristan, Yunanistan ve Türkiye sınırları içinde yer almaktadır. Kuzey Bulgaristan, Güneybatı Bulgaristan, Doğu Makedonya ile Karadeniz, Marmara Denizi ve Ege Denizleri tarafından çevrelenen kültür bölgesi; günümüzde Bulgaristan Trakya’sı, Yunanistan Trakya’sı ve Türkiye Trakya’sı olarak bilinen isimlerle tanımlanmaktadır. Doğu Balkanların Trakya bölümünde, kültüre ismini veren anahtar yerleşim Karanovo merkez olmak üzere Kültürün siyasi sınır tanımaz bir çevre etkiye sahip olduğunu söyleyebiliriz. Öyle ki Güney ve Merkez Bulgaristan’daki Azmak, Veselinovo, Kazanlık, Jasattepe, Kapitan Dimitrievo, Yabalkovo, Rakitovo gibi yerleşimlere ek olarak Kuzey Yunanistan’da Paradimi, Ülkemizin Trakya Bölümündeki Aşağı Pınar, Hocaçeşme ve Toptepe ve hatta Yarımburgaz Mağarası gibi yerleşimlerde çeşitli dönem Karanovo Kültürü eserlerine sahip tabakalara sahip olduğu bilinmektedir.

Türk Arkeolojisi için seçkin bir yere sahip ve barındırdığı kültürel miras ile
Anadolu’nun yazılı (tarihi) devirlere geçişini anlamamızı sağlayan eski bir yerleşim olan Kültepe’de; Assur Ticaret Kolonileri Dönemi konut yapıları, dönemin ticari ilişkileri ve yaşam koşullarını anlamamız için önemli arkeolojik verilerdir. Bununla birlikte arkeolojik kazılarda yapı taş temelleri, kısmen ve toprak altında kalarak korunabilmiş kerpiç duvar kalıntıları ve
günümüze ulaşmayan fakat boşlukları belirgin ahşap dikmeleri dışında veriler elde edemediğimiz ve pek çok belirsizlik içeren mimari detayların tanımlanabilmesi önemli bir sorundur. Bu sorunu anlayabilmek ve çözümlemek için eldeki verilerin multidisipliner çalışmalarla yorumlanması büyük önem arz etmektedir. Bu çalışma ile mevcut arkeolojik verilerin, inşaat mühendisliği disiplini ile, tersine mühendislik değerlendirilmeleri kullanılarak analiz edilmesi ve 3900 yıl önce inşa edilmiş bu yapılardaki belirsizliklerin açıklanması amaçlanmaktadır. Bu amaçla Kültepe-Karum bölgesinde bulunan 92 nolu binanın statik analizleri ve değerlendirilmesi gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Çalışmamızın ilk bölümünde Kültepe ve Assur Ticaret Kolonileri Dönemi tanıtılacak, ikinci bölümünde ise Kültepe-Karum Konut Mimarisi ve yapı özellikleri açıklanacaktır. Çalışmamızın üçüncü bölümünde ise örnek olarak seçilmiş bir konut yapısının statik analizlerinin aşamaları ve analiz sonuçlarının değerlendirmesi hedeflenmektedir. Ayrıca çalışmanın son bölümünde bilim okuryazarlığı ve bilimsel yöntem aşamaları yönünden yapılan çalışmanın değerlendirilmesi hedeflenmektedir.

The geography of northern Central Anatolia, the heartland of the Hittite Empire, is characterized by agreat heterogeneity of topography, geologyand climate. Thisl eadst oacorrespondingly large diversity of anthropogenic lifestyles and economical strategies adapted to the particular regional conditions. In this chapter, this diversification is presented as the background of cultural development and its manifestations. Based on evidence from Boğazköy and Kuşaklı, it shows how Hittite society dealt with the obstacles of the natural habitat and argues for as tronger consideration of Hittite culture against the background of these regional patterns.

Since the beginning of the study of H ttite culture, architecture has played a central role. While the focus has long been on a typological-descriptive approach to inventory the findings, the potential for understanding the development of social structures has long remained untapped. The changes in the built environment show how the establishment of the Hittite dynasty brought about changes in social organization and economic processes in Central Anatolia. This is particularly visible in the introduction of new and indigenous ground plans, which codified the social behaviors associated with them far beyond their formative phase, thus contributing significantly to identity formation and the creation of social cohesion. Thus, the findings demonstrate the function of state-sponsored Hittite architecture within the framework of the state's exercise of power. However, it is noteworthy that Hittite state culture and architecture was apparently unable to fundamentally change the longue durée of cultural development in Central Anatolia. For this was molded by geography and thus offered limited possibilities for change.

The Assyrian Trade Colonies Period, chronologically comes after the Old Bronze Age which has
been represented by a rich cultural level in Eskiyapar Mound, continues without a break in settlement
stratigraphy. The following period, namely “ Old Hittite” had no interruption as the preceding levels. In
the Area “ E”, a group of cultic ceramics have been earthed dated back to the earliest level of the Old
Hittite Period in the fi rst excavation campaigns. The fi nd of intact cult vase with bull relief which led the
fi rst excavations, has been determined that it has been unearthed from the same area. With the beginning
of the third excavation campaign, we previously defi ned, namely the “Middle Hittite” period has only one
cultural level proceeding the three subleveled Old Hittite Period, however the excavations in the “ Building
A” has given new evidences for two sublevels: Late (A) and Early (B). The constitutive of our focus and
with the contribution of precious importance on the Eskiyapar relief vase tradition, the larger sherd has a
male fi gure playing a musical instrument (string instrument called as saz). The fi gure size comparison with
the other Old Hittite musical instrument players, ours is bigger and differs from the others in depiction
features. With this piece, we can see the latest stage of the Hittite relief vase/ vessel tradition that roots back
to the Assyrian Trade Colonies Period and emergence just at the beginning of the Old Hittite Period. The
Eskiyapar vase preserves the powerful Hattian tradition in the Old Hittite Period and displays the traces of
the new process. This mentioned process is the maturation of Classical Hittite art, which is encountered as
a mixture of Hattian and Hurrian cultures and continues until Late Hittite Period.

This is a short overview of the history of using statistical methods in processing large amounts of ceramic sherds in archaeology. It begins with the first usage of this method in a descriptive way in Alişar; the application of exploratory statistic in the 80es, and up to the creation of a so called “Fingerprint” of a ceramic complex in the 21st century. On the one hand the most important steps of working on large amounts of sherds in one feature will be shown. On the other hand examples will be presented of the usage of these methods in the further processing of the data.

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Geschichte der Anwendung statistischer Methoden bei der Bearbeitung großer Mengen von Siedlungskeramik in der hethitischen Archäologie. Der Bogen wird vom ersten Gebrauch deskriptiver Statistik am Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts, über die Anwendung explorativer statistischer Methoden in den 1980ern, bis zur Erstel- lung eines sogenannten Fingerabdrucks von Kera- mik-Komplexen mittels explorativer statistischer Me- thoden am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts gespannt. Es geht um wichtige Schritte bei der Erfassung großer Mengen von Siedlungskeramik einerseits,
wie auch um Beispiele für die Anwendung statisti- scher Methoden bei der Auswertung andererseits.

As part of the interdisciplinary research project into the Hittite capital of Hattuša, various digital methods have been used since 2014 in cooperation with Italian universities for the three-dimensional documentation of large-format inscriptions and sculptures, extensive architectural ensembles and complex topographical terrains. Only this approach has made it possible to understand monuments that were previously difficult to interpret (e.g. the inscription of Nişantepe, the hieroglyphic inscriptions of Yerkapı or parts of Yazılıkaya) as well as complex geographical structures (e.g., the Budaközü Canyon) in their overall context in such a way that, in addition to the interpretation of the individual monument, the relationship between anthropogenic activity and topographical conditions becomes recognizable.

Tuz Gölü'nün hemen güneyinde bulunan Acemhöyük, Asur Ticaret Kolonileri Çağı'nın önemli ticari ve siyasi merkezlerinden biridir. Günümüze kadar sürdürülen çalışmalar, Acemhöyük'ün MÖ III. binyılın ilk yarısından itibaren iskân gördüğünü ve MÖ II. binyılın başlarında Orta Anadolu'nun büyük krallık merkezlerinden biri haline geldiğini göstermektedir. Bu çalışmada, Acemhöyük güney yamacında sürdürülen kazılarda ele geçen ve Erken Tunç Çağı'na tarihlenen bir çanak buluntusu ele alınmıştır. Güney yamaçta çöp çukuru içerisinde bulunan çanak, Anadolu'da en erken örnekleri Neolitik Çağ'da görülen kırmızı haç motifli çanakların bir örneğidir. Bu çanakların Erken Tunç Çağı'nın ilk yarısında İç Batı Anadolu çevresinde nispeten sınırlı bir bölgede yayılım gösterdikleri bilinmektedir. Ancak Erken Tunç Çağı sonlarına tarihlenen tabakalara sahip çok sayıda yerleşimde, bu tip çanakların bulunması, bir yaygınlaşma sürecine işaret etmiştir. Kırmızı haç motifli çanakların ele geçtiği yerleşimlerin coğrafi dağılımına bakıldığında, Batı Anadolu'dan Kilikya'ya kadar uzanan geniş bir bölgeyle karşılaşılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada tartışılan Acemhöyük çanağı, öncelikle arkeolojik bağlamı ve teknik özellikleriyle ele alınmıştır. Biçim ve bezeme özellikleri temelinde benzer örneklerle karşılaştırılan çanağın kırmızı haç motifinin yaygınlaştığı süreçle bağlantılı olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Biçim, hamur, astar gibi makroskopik özellikler, çanağın yerleşime dışarıdan getirilmediğine işaret etmiştir. Sonuç olarak Acemhöyük çanağının içinde bulunan kırmızı haç motifi, dönemin inanç sistemleriyle bağlantılı bir sembolün çanak çömlek üretimine yansıması şeklinde değerlendirilmiştir.

by Valerio PISANIELLO, in Res Antiquae 21, 2024.***This article proposes a new edition of Muršili II’s highly fragmentary Pestgebet KBo 14.75, for which a very tentative restoration of the text is offered based on parallels in other prayers issued by the same king, as well as a brief discussion about its possible collocation within the corpus of Muršili II’s Pestgebete.***Keywords: Hittite prayers; Muršili II’s Pestgebete; Textual reconstruction.***Table of contents and details: http://www.safranpublishers.com/proddetail.php?prod=RANT21

In spring 2022, 120 years after the first excavations, a team from LMU Munich, in collaboration with the University al-Qadissiya (Diwaniyah), carried out excavations in Fāra, ancient Šuruppak. An important result of the short excavation campaign was to confirm that successful research is possible despite the recent heavy destruction. A combination of non-invasive methods (geophysics, survey and aerial photography) and limited, precisely targeted excavations led to the first systematic documentation of ED II and ED IIIa period neighbourhoods and houses, including installations and mobile inventory. The large building in the centre was probably the main temple, which was surrounded by planned streets. Numerous discarded sealings of the ED II period were found in ‘Graben Ide’, where the 1902 excavations had already uncovered many similar ones, and which have long been regarded as diagnostic of the Mesilim period. They now turn out to be remains from a neighbouring building that must have had administrative functions.

The biggest temple of the Syrian Storm God Haddu was situated in Aleppo. It dates from the Early Bronze IV until Roman Times and was excavated by Kay Kohlmeyer in cooperation with the Syrian Antiquities Organisation. The temple  is oriented in distance of 105 km towards the Dülük Baba Tepesi, the Doliche mountain which was where the the Jupiter Dolichenus cult was initiated and became popular. The cult statues of this god represent the Interpretation Romana of the Storm God, Jupiter is represented like him as standing on the weather bull. This newly discovered orientation of the temple of the Stormgod of Aleppo means not less that the Doliche mountain was already dedicated to the stormgod in the 3rd millennium BCE. Indeed, a team of the University of Münster surveyed the region of the Doliche mountain and was able to trace the cultic activity there, going back until the early 1st millnnium BCE. As the cult tradition has to go back according to the new evidence to the 3rd millennium BCE one expects earlier evidence of this cult at the Doliche mountain region to be discovered soon.

merkmal bescherte und den er an seine Schülerinnen und Schüler weitergegeben hat: die gleichberechtigte, wenn nicht vorrangige Heranziehung der enchorischen Quellen gegenüber der klassischen Literatur für die Untersuchung der Geschichte Altvorderasiens. Schon mit dieser Diplomarbeit leistete er einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Geschichte Babyloniens in persischer Zeit und kam durch seine Methode zu überzeugenden, gänzlich neuen Erkenntnissen. Selbiges gilt auch für seine 1993 vorgelegte Dissertation mit dem Titel "Frühformen historischen Denkens. Geschichtsdenken, Ideologie und Propaganda im alten Mesopotamien am Übergang von der Ur-III zur Isin-Larsa Zeit", sprach doch die communis opinio in der damaligen Zeit dem Alten Orient jedwedes historisches Denken schlicht ab. Während seiner Zeit als Forschungsassistent am Institut für Alte Geschichte in Innsbruck arbeitete er nicht nur am Thema seiner späteren Dissertation, sondern war von 1990-1995 Projektleiter eines von der Landesregierung Vorarlberg geförderten Projektes zur Trentiner Einwanderung nach Vorarlberg, was sowohl seine fachliche Breite als auch seine Verbundenheit mit seiner Heimat auf das Trefflichste demonstriert. 3 Im Jahr 1999 legte er seine Habilitation mit dem Titel "Antikes Griechenland und Alter Orient. Historisch-kritische Untersuchungen zur Interaktion der beiden Kulturräume mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Zeit vom 8. bis zum 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr." vor, mithin zu einem Forschungsfeld, das ihn über Jahrzehnte beschäftigen sollte und auf dem er Herausragendes geleistet hat. Im Jahr 2000 wurde er zunächst außerordentlicher Universitätsprofessor in Innsbruck, um dann im Jahr 2005 den Ruf auf die Universitätsprofessur für "Kulturbeziehungen und Kulturkontakte zwischen den Kulturen des Alten Orients und des mediterranen Raumes" anzunehmen, die er seither bekleidet. Die Kontakte zwischen Altvorderasien und der Mittelmeerwelt, die Geschichte der iranischen Großreiche in der Antike und die Geschichte des alpinen Raums in der Spätantike bildeten in all diesen Jahren seine thematischen Schwerpunkte, zu denen er eine staunenswerte Vielzahl von grundlegenden Publikationen vorlegte. In Sachen Kulturkontakte zwischen Altvorderasien und der Mediterranen Welt war ihm das Melammu Projekt ein Herzensanliegen, dessen er sich seit 2001 als Chair, Mitglied des Steering Commitee und Mitglied des Board annahm und annimmt. In der zweiten Dekade dieses Jahrhunderts bildete sich dann ein weiterer Forschungsschwerpunkt in Gestalt der vergleichenden Imperien-Geschichte heraus, der er sich mit der ihm eigenen Energie und unermüdlichen Schaffenskraft widmet. Das Resultat war eine Vielzahl von Tagungen und die dementsprechende Publikation der Ergebnisse derselben, im Zuge derer einzelne, auch weniger bekannte Imperien weltweit und diachron untersucht wurden, 4 was es Robert Rollinger in Zusammenarbeit mit Kol--Archäologischer Befund -Konsequenzen für eine Geschichte Babylons in persischer Zeit, Innsbruck 1993 (Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft).

Das "Angebot" an Spenderorganen ist in Deutschland seit Jahren unzureichend. Während die Verbesserungen der Operationstechnik und die Einführung wirksamerer Immunsuppressiva neue Behandlungsmöglichkeiten schufen, ist die Motivation zum Spenden tendenziell abnehmend. Der Beitrag setzt sich mit verschiedenen Lösungen dieser heiklen Problematik auseinander. Besonders diskussionswürdig scheint das sogenannte "Club-Modell".

Hethitische Festrituale waren nicht nur aufwendige Zeremonien zu Ehren der Götter, sondern legen Zeugnis ab von einer komplexen Kultverwaltung und von ihrer zentralen Bedeutung für die Demonstration der Machtordnung im hethitischen Reich. Sie boten den lokalen Eliten Gelegenheit, Geschenke vom König zu erhalten und an gemeinsamen Banketten und Trinkzeremonien teilzunehmen. Dazu wurden speziell geformte oder verzierte Keramikgefäße verwendet, die sowohl in Texten erwähnt werden als auch im archäologischen Befund erhalten sind. Solche speziellen Gefäße bieten die Möglichkeit, den archäologisch überlieferten Realien hinter den Festritualen nachzuspüren und darüber hinaus zu der in der Hethiterforschung schwer greifbaren Kongruenz textlicher und archäologischer Quellen beizutragen.

The continuation of the research on Büyükkale’s Northwest Slope (BK-NWH), on the Büyükkale and on the western slope of the Upper Town has yielded significant new results relating to the Hittite period. The development of the Upper City now appears to be a fluid process that very probably began in the first half of the 16ᵗʰ century B.C. (contribution by M. Gruber § 129–153). We were able to gain insights into the Hittite period on the Büyükkale Northwest Slope (contribution A. Schachner § 2–96), in the
poterne of Yerkapı (contributions by M. Marazzi – N. Bolatti-Guzzo, and L. Repola – V. Morra § 159–194) and on the Büyükkale (contribution by J. Becker § 97–128). The excavations on the western slope of the upper town not only confirm that this part of the city was settled in the 16ᵗʰ century B.C., but also provide strong evidence that this process began earlier than previously assumed and continued dynamically throughout the entire century. On Büyükkale, substantial remains of the Hittite Empire period are becoming increasingly apparent, which profoundly change the appearance of the Hittite royal castle. In the poterne of Yerkapı, open questions regarding the painted Anatolian hieroglyphs could be clarified, which, in turn, provide clues to the Hittite understanding of the city’s topography. For the first time in several decades, the research at the Büyükkale Northwest Slope has provided well-dated contexts for the discovery of a spectacular bone inlay, which, in addition to contributing to our understanding of the development in Ḫattuša, provides rare insights into the supra-regional relationships of this period. Also, at the Büyükkale Northwest Slope, a text was found in connection with a building of the late Hittite Great Kingdom period, through which the previously unknown Indo-European language of Kalašma could be reconstructed. A second focus of the work relates to research into the 1ˢᵗ millennium B.C. layers on the Büyükkale and the Büyükkale Northwest Slope. At Büyükkale, a detailed stratigraphic investigation of the sequence of building layers from the Middle and Late Iron Age allows for a check of the sequence proposed several decades ago. At the Büyükkale Northwest Slope, not only was it possible to document an Early Iron Age settlement for the first time outside Büyükkaya, but a shift in the settlement from the Middle to the Late Iron Age up the slope can also be seen. This is all the more remarkable given that in the subsequent Hellenistic-Galatian period the settlement was again located in the area of the Middle Iron Age. These changes in the choice of settlement site within a defined geographical area are structurall corresponding to similar developments in the Bronze Age. For the first time it is possible to identify such processes in antiquity that are otherwise only documented for the Ottoman period in Central Anatolia.

The so-called Great Temple and the monumental buildings in its vicinity are the most emblematic structures in the Hittite capital Ḫattuša. It is one of the best-preserved ensembles of monumental Hittite architecture, which stands par excellence for Hittite culture in Central Anatolia and is today visited by all visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The edifices were investigated in several stages between 1907 and 1969 so that the history of research into this extensive Bronze Age settlement is reflected in an exemplary way in the changing development of the excavations and their reappraisal. The differentiated presentation of all buildings creates, for the first time, a sound basis for including these buildings in modern research questions of archaeology as well as cultural and architectural history. The work results not only in changes in the evaluation of the spatial structures and their functions but especially in the solution to the question of when this ensemble was founded. The construction of these buildings already in the formative phase of the Hittite empire can be associated with politically and socially indicated religious developments and with the urban transformation of Ḫattuša from an Anatolian city to the religious and political center of an ancient Near Eastern empire.





Der sogenannte Große Tempel und die monumentale Bebauung in seinem Umfeld sind die prägenden Bauten in der hethitischen Hauptstadt Ḫattuša. Es handelt sich um eines der am besten erhaltenen Ensembles monumentaler hethitischer Architektur, das par excellence für die hethitische Kultur in Zentralanatolien steht und heute von allen Besuchern der UNESCO-Weltkulturerbestätte besichtigt wird. Die Bauwerke wurden in mehreren Etappen zwischen 1907 und 1969 zwar untersucht, aber nie im Detail vorgelegt. In der wechselvollen Entwicklung der Grabungen und deren Aufarbeitung spiegelt sich die Geschichte der Erforschung der bronzezeitlichen Großsiedlung exemplarisch. Die differenzierte Vorlage sämtlicher Baubefunde schafft nun erstmals eine fundierte Grundlage dafür, diese Gebäude in moderne Forschungsfragen der Archäologie sowie der Kultur- und Architekturgeschichte einzubeziehen. Aus den Arbeiten ergeben sich nicht nur Veränderungen in der Bewertung der Raumstrukturen und deren Funktionen, sondern insbesondere für die Frage, wann dieses Ensemble gegründet wurde. Die Errichtung dieser Bauwerke bereits in der Entstehungsphase des hethitischen Großreichs lässt sich mit politisch und gesellschaftlich indizierten religiösen Entwicklungen ebenso verbinden wie mit der städtebaulichen Umgestaltung Ḫattušas von einer anatolischen Stadt zum religiösen und politischen Zentrum eines altorientalischen Großreichs.

https://reichert-verlag.de/schlagworte/altertumswissenschaften_schlagwort/9783752008036_ausgrabungen_in_der_unterstadt_von_bogazkoey_ii-detail

https://zenon.dainst.org/Record/003081468
https://publications.dainst.org/books/dai/catalog/book/2112

Through the agency of animals, we think about our identity, landscape and society, and therefore animal imagery holds a special place in approaches to human thought. Through a study of the zoomorphic figurine assemblage recorded at the Early Bronze Age site of Koçumbeli-Ankara, we argue that the zoomorphic figurines of this time period were produced through a meaningful linking of particular images and raw materials to particular use contexts. For example, the ambiguously sexed zoomorphic figurines of clay are usually found within the settlement contexts, whereas the rest of the zoomorphic imagery, in the form of elaborately decorated and often male-sexed metal statues and standards, are found in ‘elite’ burials located in cemeteries. This occurs on the background of an emergent form of ritual control, which was negotiated through the separation of cemetery and settlement. In these contexts, the authority of the past was invoked via ancestral imagery through the careful employment o...

This showcase presents the best-preserved examples of poetic repetition and parallelism in the Hittite Šar Tamḫāri. Drawing on theoretical approaches to parallelism used in Assyriology and, more recently, Hittitology, it is shown that the text can be analysed fruitfully as a well-structured piece of literature. At the same time, numerous, seemingly inexplicable errors lead to an apparent total lapse in the text’s poetics in places, raising questions concerning the ability and/or priorities of the scribe. The Akkadian recension is also briefly brought into dialogue with the Hittite text.

MÖ 2. bin yılda Orta Tunç Çağı’nda Anadolu’da bir devlet
kurmuş olan Hititler çok sayıda tanrı ve tanrıçadan oluşan tanrılar
topluluğuna sahiplerdi. Bu geniş panteonda bazen aynı tanrı farklı
kavimler tarafından benimsenip kendi dillerinde adlandırılıyordu.
Bunlardan biri de Hattiler, Hititler ve Luviler tarafından kabul edilip,
kutsanan Tanrıça Kamrušepa’dır. Hattice, Hititçe ve Luvice
metinlerde büyü ve sağlık tanrıçası olarak görev alan Kamrušepa,
Hattili Katahzipuri / Katahziwuri / Katahziwuuri ile eşitlenmektedir.
Ancak bu tanrıçanın kökeni ile adının anlamına dair farklı görüşler
bulunmaktadır. Çoğunlukla ritüel, büyü, mitolojik metinlerde adı
geçen Tanrıça Kamrušepa, hastaları iyileştiren, doğum esnasında anne
ile bebeğe yardımcı olan ve aynı zamanda doğum ritüellerinde anneyi
koruyan ebe görevindedir. Bu makalede, ilk olarak Orta Hitit
dönemine tarihlendirilen Hititçe çiviyazılı belgelerde karşımıza çıkan
Kamrušepa incelenecektir.

The 2022 excavation season at Uşaklı Höyük, located in the Sorgun district of Yozgat, Turkey, marked the sixteenth season of collaborative archaeological work by Turkish and Italian teams. The site, inhabited from the late 3rd millennium BC to the Middle Ages, was investigated in five main areas, focusing on layers from the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Classical periods. Excavations uncovered monumental Hittite structures, fortifications, and Classical period buildings. Notable findings included a circular Hittite building in Area F and a wine-processing installation in Area G. Additionally, experimental archaeology and soil flotation techniques were employed to gain further insights into ancient dietary practices and agricultural activities.