8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A new Indo-European Language discovered in the Hittite capital Hattusa

The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism announced in a written statement that a new Indo-European language was discovered during excavations in the Boğazkale district of Çorum, which is home to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites.

The Hittites lived in Anatolia around 3,500 years ago. They recorded state treaties and decrees, prayers, myths, and incantation rituals on clay tablets – in a language that could only be deciphered around 100 years ago. The basis for this is around 30,000 manuscripts, which are predominantly written in the Hittite language, but also to a lesser extent in other languages such as Luwian or Palaian. Now a new one has been added to these languages.

The Hittites, one of the most mysterious and powerful civilizations in Anatolian history, empire rose with the invention of the alphabet when humanity transitioned from the Middle to the late Bronze Age in the late 14th and 12th centuries B.C.

We know that they were one of the greatest military powers of their time – after all, they went head-to-head with the great pharaohs of Egypt, such as Ramesses the Great, before their power was finally put in check by the world’s first peace treaty. And then one day, in around 1,180 B.C., their powerful empire suddenly broke apart, splintering into independent Neo-Hittite city-states, which slowly and mysteriously disappeared off the face of the earth.

In the statement, it was stated that new finds continued to be added to the cuneiform inscriptions in the archaeological studies carried out under the direction of Prof. Dr. Andreas Schachner from the Istanbul Branch of the German Archaeological Institute, and the following was noted:

Hittite is the oldest Indo-European language known—older than Greek, Latin, or Sanskrit. İmage Source
Hittite is the oldest Indo-European language known—older than Greek, Latin, or Sanskrit. Image Source

“Most of the texts were written in Hittite, the oldest proven Indo-European language and the dominant language in the region, but an unexpected surprise was encountered during this year’s excavations. A reading text written in a hitherto unknown language was hidden inside a cult ritual text written in Hittite. The excavation epigraphist is from the University of Würzburg, Germany Prof. Dr. Daniel Schwemer reports that he identified this language as the language of the Kalašma country, located at the northwestern end of the Hittite central region, probably in the modern Bolu or Gerede region.”

The discovery of another language in the Boğazköy-Hattusa archives is not entirely unexpected. According to Professor Schwemer, the Hittites had a unique interest in recording rituals in foreign languages. Ritual texts written by the Hittite king’s scribes reflect various Anatolian, Syrian and Mesopotamian traditions and linguistic environments. These rituals offer valuable perspectives on the little-known linguistic geography of Late Bronze Age Anatolia, where not only Hittite was spoken. As a matter of fact, the cuneiform texts in Boğazköy-Hattusa contain passages from Luwian and Palaca, two other Anatolian-Indo-European languages closely related to Hittite, as well as from Hattian, a language that is not of Indo-European origin. Now the Kalašma language can be added to these.”

In the statement, it was pointed out that the text in the Kalašma language, written in a newly discovered language, is still largely incomprehensible, and the following statements were made:

“Schwemer’s colleague, Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Rieken, an expert on ancient Anatolian languages, confirmed that this new language belongs to the Anatolian-Indo-European language family. According to Rieken, despite its geographical proximity to the region where Palaic is spoken, this text is linguistically Luwian.” How closely the Kalašma language, is related to other Luwian dialects in Late Bronze Age Anatolia will be the subject of further research.

Interdisciplinary studies at Boğazköy-Hattusa have been conducted by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Thyssen Foundation, “It is carried out as a project funded by the GRH Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Scientists from DAI, Istanbul, Würzburg and the University of Marburg are working together on the documentation and evaluation of the text.”

Related Articles

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC)...

A 2000-year-old Rare Artifact was Found Near Poltava

25 May 2021

25 May 2021

Scarab beetle pendant found near the Ukrainian city of Poltava. During the building of the H-31 motorway in the Poltava...

Underwater Researchers Found Temples to Ancient Gods in Sunken City

20 September 2023

20 September 2023

Two temples belonging to the Egyptian god Amun and the Greek goddess Aphrodite were found in the sunken city off...

Albastı “A Mother’s Nightmare “

5 February 2021

5 February 2021

Albastı is one of the bad characters in Turkish mythology. The fearful dream of puerperal women and babies, Albastı continues...

Jordan Valley Reveals Earliest Cotton Use in the Ancient Near East

18 December 2022

18 December 2022

During excavations at Tel Tsaf, a 7,000-year-old town in the Jordan Valley, Israeli archaeologists discovered the earliest evidence of cotton...

New evidence pushes the origins of the Great Wall back by 300 years

19 February 2025

19 February 2025

Recently discovered evidence from the Changqing district of Jinan, located in East China’s Shandong Province, reveals that the origins of...

Archaeologists are deciphering Roman history along Dere Street, one of the oldest roadways in Britain

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Final archaeological finds uncovered as part of a major road improvement in the north of England have shed new insight...

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...

3600 years old Unique ancient drinking bowls on display at Boğazkale Museum

15 August 2021

15 August 2021

The 3,600-year-old fist-shaped drinking bowls found in excavations in Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Civilization, which shaped the Anatolian...

Centuries-old burials discovered near Antandros Ancient City in Turkey

10 January 2022

10 January 2022

Ancient tombs were discovered during a foundation excavation at a building site near the ancient city of Antandros, which is...

Significant Archaeological Discovery on Failaka Island: Hellenistic Courtyard and Building Unearthed

17 February 2025

17 February 2025

The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has announced a remarkable archaeological find on Failaka Island, revealing a...

Archaeologists uncovered an Aztec altar with human ashes in Mexico City

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 16th-century altar in Plaza Garibaldi, the center in Mexico City famous for its revelry...

Newly Discovered 200,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings in Marbella: Potentially Among Europe’s Oldest Cave Art

14 March 2025

14 March 2025

Marbella has just made an incredible discovery that could change everything we thought we knew about prehistoric Europe. Archaeologists working...

One-of-a-kind 1000- years-old gold earring found in Denmark

13 December 2021

13 December 2021

A metal detectorist in Denmark uncovered a one-of-a-kind piece of 11th-century gold jewelry that had never been seen in Scandinavia...

Archaeological settlements dating back 3000 years found in Qurayat, Oman

2 October 2022

2 October 2022

Archaeological research in Oman’s Qurayat Province has revealed numerous archaeological and historical settlements, some dating back more than 3,000 years...