Archaeologists working at the site of Kayalıpınar in central Turkey, known in ancient times as the city of Šamuḫa, have uncovered 131 cuneiform tablets written in Hittite and Hurrian. Dating to around 1400 BC during the reign of King Tudhaliya II, these texts join 53 tablets previously found at the site in 2025 to create a collection of 184 documents. The excavation, directed by Çiğdem Maner of Koç University, offers a rare look inside a major regional commercial, religious, and military center.
What Scientists Found
The translated clay tablets provide new details about state administration, official procedures, and everyday life in the Hittite Empire. They also document severe challenges experienced by the population:
- Military Upheaval: Records show that mountain-dwelling Kaska tribes attacked Hittite settlements and the capital during Tudhaliya II's rule, turning Šamuḫa into a vital military base for defense.
- A Forgotten Epidemic: The inscriptions describe a high-fever plague spreading between cities that hit infants and young children especially hard. The tablets record the illness and death of a baby princess, alongside the funeral rituals conducted for her.
- Divination Customs: The texts document bird diviners analyzing bird calls and flight paths to interpret the will of the gods, providing clearer insights into ancient divination practices.
Why It Matters
Most surviving Hittite writings originate from the capital city of Hattusa, where around 30,000 tablets present a view heavily focused on royal elites. Discovering an archive from a city outside the capital allows historians to study the Hittites through their own written words rather than relying on historical accounts from Egypt or biblical texts. These discoveries expand our understanding of how provincial cities operated, how religion was used to confront disease, and how the empire sustained itself during times of conflict before eventually vanishing.
Source: ancient civilization archaeology discovery - BingNews · Published October 30, 2026 · Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
