Die Ausgrabungen in Boğazköy-Ḫattuša 2019

Abstract

In the area of the kārum further parts of a large storage building were uncovered, which in this form is unknown in any other settlement of the Old Assyrian trade colonies so far. The large number of typologically uniform storage vessels gives for the first time a concrete insight into the centrally planned and organized economic structures of the Middle Bronze Age principality of Ḫattuš. After the destruction of this complex, which can be limited to the time after 1748 B.C. by another cuneiform tablet, this area is immediately used as a large, open area, in which only some hearths or other installations of little substance were found. This shows again – and here for the first time in a larger area – that the political hiatus between the kārum period and the foundation of the Hittite Empire cannot be equated with a complete abandonment of the settlement. According to the radiocarbon dating, the extensive restructuring of this part of the settlement took place very early in the Old Hittite era, so that indications of the planning criteria of the Hittite rulers are visible. The probable destruction of at least parts of the northern Lower Town by an earthquake already in the older Empire period is of special importance. It confirms observations in other parts of the Lower Town. Moreover, it makes it clear that at certain times, but especially in the younger Great Empire, which so far has always been regarded as the peak of the development of the city and the Empire, no comprehensive use of the area is to be expected. Rather, a spatially varying use of the extensive urban area can be assumed. This finding opens up new perspectives for future research into the Hittite settlement. Through the intensive use of three-dimensional documentation techniques, a hitherto unknown relief was most probably detected in Chamber B of Yazılıkaya. Thanks to the same technology, the reading of an inscription on the lionʼs gate can also be improved. The investigations in the area of the Roman military camp and an extensive villa complex confirm the chronological results obtained so far. At the same time, a possible gate to the camp from the north may have been discovered.