5 July 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

Sorcery in Australian Cloggs Cave may be World’s Oldest Known Culturally Transmitted Ritual

1 July 2024

1 July 2024

Two sticks found in a cave in Australia show signs of processing that perfectly match Aboriginal sorcery and curse-making practices...

Ritual Sacrifice of Pregnant Woman: Ecuador may Reflect the Community’s Fear of Her Power

28 January 2025

28 January 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find in Ecuador, researchers have uncovered the rich burial of a pregnant woman and her fetus,...

A unique gold brooch talisman with inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew was found in the UK

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

A Medieval gold annular brooch with prayerful inscriptions has been discovered in the parish of Manningford in Wiltshire, in the...

Scientists Ancient Landscape Not Seen For 14 Million Years Discovered Beneath Antarctic Ice

26 October 2023

26 October 2023

Researchers have uncovered an ancient landscape that remained hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) for at least 14...

Oman has recovered an exceptional collection of silver jewelry from a prehistoric grave

7 November 2022

7 November 2022

From a prehistoric grave dating to the 3rd millennium BC in Dahwa, North Batinah, a team of international archaeologists working...

Comb and gold hair-ring dating back more than 3,000 years unearthed in south Wales

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

Archeologists in south Wales, have unearthed a golden hair ring and the oldest wooden comb ever found in the U.K....

2000-year-old quarry discovered in Jerusalem that could be the source of Second temple stones

5 September 2021

5 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old quarry in Har Hotzvim, now an industrial park in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority said...

Dark secrets of Korea’s famous Wolseong palace complex are unearthed

8 September 2021

8 September 2021

The remains of an adult woman were discovered at the base of the Wolseong palace in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province,...

3500-year-old Ritual Table with All Its Ceramic Dishware Found in Azerbaijan

12 July 2024

12 July 2024

A joint team of Italian and Azerbaijani archaeologists has discovered a 3500-year-old ritual table with the ceramic tableware still in...

Ancient Jordanian town referred to as Heshbon in the Old Testament provides insight into regional agricultural history

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

The American archaeologist stated that Tell Hisban, located on the Madaba plains of Jordan, represents the “granary of the empires”....

The two sarcophagi discovered beneath Notre Dame start to reveal their secrets

12 December 2022

12 December 2022

The owner of one of the two sarcophagi that were found in an excavation at the intersection of Notre Dame...

Anthropologists discovered a bone in the Grotte du Renne cave in France that could indicate the presence of a previously unknown lineage of Homo sapiens

9 August 2023

9 August 2023

A bone discovered in the Grotte du Renne cave in France may represent the existence of a previously unknown lineage...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

2 January 2025

2 January 2025

Over 1,300 archaeological sites in Azerbaijan were systematically surveyed and documented in two field campaigns in 2021 and 2023 by...

Fossil found at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau reveals an owl active during the day 6 million years ago

29 March 2022

29 March 2022

The incredibly well-preserved fossil skeleton of an extinct owl that lived was discovered on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau,...