11 January 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

3500-year-old mysterious hieroglyphs discovered in Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa deciphered

Some of the Anatolian hieroglyphs discovered last year in the Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa, the former capital of the Hittite Empire, were deciphered.

Hattusha: the Hittite Capital is located in the Boğazkale District of Çorum Province, in Northern Central Anatolian. The remnants of the Hittite Capital date back to the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC. The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986.

In the famous Yerkapı Tunnel, which every visitor passes through in the Hattusa Ruins, 249 symbols of 3500 years were discovered. Some of the deciphered sections of Anatolian hieroglyphs (a form of writing consisting of about 500 signs) discovered last year, contain information about the person who built the tunnel.

The hieroglyphs contain the name and title of the individual in charge of the tunnel’s construction.

The inscriptions discovered last year by Associate Professor Dr. Bülent Genç, a faculty member of the Archaeology Department at Mardin Artuklu University, consist of 249 symbols drawn with root dye.

Photo: AA

In the hieroglyphs found at the western and eastern ends of the tunnel, it is understood that a person named ‘Arişadu’ was responsible for the construction of the tunnel. This information is considered the most significant discovery regarding the tunnel’s construction.

There are also symbols for “Tuthaliya Mountain” and “road” in the hieroglyphs that can be seen on the western side of the tunnel. The combination of these symbols suggests that the tunnel was constructed as a road leading to Tuthaliya Mountain.

The head of the excavation, Prof Dr Andreas Schachner, drawing attention to the two sets of symbols on the western side of the tunnel: “One group has not yet been fully clarified, but the meaning of one group is clear. They have combined the symbols for ‘Tuthaliya Mountain’ and ‘road.’ We know about Tuthaliya Mountain from Hittite texts. Tuthaliya Mountain is a sacred mountain for the Hittites. It is so important that several kings took their royal names from there. The road symbol is believed to carry meanings such as ‘the road from Tuthaliya,’ ‘the road leading to Tuthaliya Mountain,’ or ‘the road passing through Tuthaliya Mountain’.”

Photo: AA

Due to the presence of these symbols in a tunnel, my hypothesis is whether we can associate Yerkapı with Tuthaliya Mountain or if there is an artificially constructed Tuthaliya Mountain, because from the outside, especially when viewed from the plains, Yerkapı is at the highest point of Hattusa and is therefore visible from all sides. It is located in a manner befitting a sacred place.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Schachner stated in his statement that the Anatolian hieroglyphs used in the construction of the tunnel provide important clues for understanding the Hittite era.”

Schachner stated, “These hieroglyphs appear as the signature, inscription, or an expression of ‘I did it’ by the person who built this tunnel. However, at the same time, we understand this; most likely, in the Hittite world, Anatolian hieroglyphs, this pictorial script, were much more widespread than cuneiform script.”

He also mentioned that Anatolian hieroglyphs were common in everyday life. “Cuneiform was more of an elite phenomenon, something used by the state, but with Anatolian hieroglyphs, we can anticipate various applications like everyday communication, city navigation signs, and many other things,” he said.

Related Articles

Two mysterious stone balls were found buried in a tomb dating to 3500 BC in Orkney

2 September 2021

2 September 2021

In Orkney, archaeologists discovered two carved stone balls in a tomb dating from 3500 BC. Archaeologists are on-site at Tresness,...

409 silver coins, found in the Mleiha area of Sharjah, were inspired by Alexander the Great and the Seleucid dynasty

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

409 silver coins dating to the 3rd century have been found in the Mleiha area of Sharjah in the United...

2500-year-old ship graffiti sheds light on the history of Izmir in western Turkey

9 March 2022

9 March 2022

In the Smyrna Agora, which is one of the largest ancient agora in the city center of the world and...

3,000-Year-Old Iron Age Statuette Discovered in Italian Lake, With Fingerprints of Maker

17 August 2024

17 August 2024

During work in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy, at the submerged archaeological site of Gran Carro, a ...

Archaeologists discover that Iranian farmers grew rice about 3,000 years ago

18 May 2023

18 May 2023

Archaeologists excavating in Iran’s Mazandaran region have revealed that Iranian farmers were cultivating rice as far back as 3000 years...

The researchers unearthed the earliest evidence of warfare and organized arming in the Southern Levant

28 November 2023

28 November 2023 1

Israel Antiquities Authority researchers have unearthed the earliest evidence of warfare and organized arming in the Southern Levant, dating back...

A Roman statue of the sea god Triton discovered near A2, London Road

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman Statue of Triton during excavations in preparation for a housing development in Kent, England. Archaeologists...

Trier University’s Digital Coin Cabinet is Now Accessible

19 February 2024

19 February 2024

Historical coins are much more than just pieces of jewelry for collections and exhibitions and are of particular interest for...

Carvings at Göbeklitepe could be World’s Oldest Calendar

6 August 2024

6 August 2024

Experts suggest that markings on a stone pillar at the 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe archaeological site in Türkiye probably represent the oldest...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

Contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia the Indus Valley Civilization city of ‘Mohenjo Daro’: Skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization (3300-1300 BCE) lasted 2,000 years and spanned northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest...

A woman was buried in a canoe on her way to the ‘destination of souls’ 800 years ago

25 August 2022

25 August 2022

According to new research, Up to 800 years ago, mourners buried a young woman in a ceremonial canoe to represent...

Brief history and 9 unknowns of Hagia Sophia

11 August 2021

11 August 2021

The Great Church was the name given to Hagia Sophia when it was initially constructed (Megale Ekklesia). However, the Church...

An Iron Age Necropolis was discovered in the Normandy, northwestern France

11 May 2022

11 May 2022

A modest Iron Age agricultural settlement excavated at Blainville-sur-Orne in Normandy, northwest France, led to the unexpected discovery of a...

A Batavian Cavalry Mask was found on the Battlefield of Roman Comrades

22 July 2022

22 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered that a rusty corroded plate they found 4 years ago at an old battlefield in the city...