İnandıktepe is an archaeological site located in Cankiri Province,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, about 50 miles northeast of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and 115 kilometers northwest of

Hattusa Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittites, Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great ...

History

Overall five levels could be identified. Levels V, IV and III date to the 2nd millennium BC.

Middle Bronze

At the end of the Middle Bronze, the Hittite Old Kingdom became the regional power. The Assyrian Trade Network ceasted to operate following the death of Shamshi-Adad and his sons.

Late Bronze

Most of them dating to the Hittite Age. A complex of about 2000 sq. m. was unearthed extending over the entire ridge of the mound. It was preserved only in parts since it was destroyed in a great fire. The excavators supposed this building to be a temple. Nevertheless, this is controversial - it has also been suggested to be an estate. Most of the archaeological finds were ceramics. Among them there were small vessels, jugs, a figurine of a bull, a temple-model as well as a tub. In addition there was found a

clay tablet In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian language, Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay t ...

with an Akkadian inscription. It documents a land-gift of the official Tutulla. It is sealed by the

Tabarna seal ''Tabarna'' or ''labarna'' was a royal title used by the Hittites. It was used from at least the 17th century BC until the end of the Hittite empire, except for the brief period from Suppiluliuma I to Muwatalli II. It was in origin possibly a perso ...

. The 'Tabarna seal' was a type of an archaic royal seal of the Hittites. Such seals do not mention the name of a specific ruler. They were in use till the reigns of the Great Kings

Telipinu Telipinu was the last king of the Hittites Old Kingdom, reigning in middle chronology. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all of its conquests, made in the former era ...

and

Alluwamna Alluwamna was a king of the Hittites (Middle Kingdom) in the 15th century BC. He might be a successor of Telipinu as his son-in-law,''The Kingdom of the Hittites'' by Trevor Bryce, p. 111–112. after the reign of Tahurwaili. Family Alluwamna m ...

, his successor. Hence it can be assumed that this tablet and the layer it was found in date to the late 16th century BC.Mielke 2006, 263.

Excavations

In 1965 workers found there potsherds of the famous İnandık-vase. Thereafter excavations took place. The site was excavated in 1966 and 1967 by Tahsin Özgüz.

Notes

Bibliography