Eine neue Sprache im Hethiterreich

Der Fund der Kalašma-Tafel (Bo 2023/12 = KBo 71.145)

Abstract

The lower half of a single-column clay tablet was found in Boğazköy-Ḫattuša during the 2023 excavation campaign near Ambarlıkaya. The Hittite introduction contains a ritual instruction that refers to the following recitation: »in the town of Kalašma« or »in (the language of) the town of Kalašma«. On this basis the short text can be assigned to this city in the north-west of Ḫattuša. The combined application of different decoding methods allows a preliminary understanding of the text passage, which is written in a previously unknown Anatolian language. The speaker invites the deity addressed, presumably the »Storm-god of Striking (down)«, to accept the offerings and asks him for benevolence and abundance in return. The characteristics of the language suggest that it belongs to the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian language group, but rule out an identification with Luwian, its most important member.