2 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

From Hittite Bit-Hilani’s to Ancient Greek Temple Pillars

It is thought that the word Bit-Hilani is derived from the Hittite word Hilambar, that is door. It is seen that it was used in everywhere with hot climate in the iron age. It can be thought of as a kind of sun protection system.

If we look at the Bit-Hilani plan: it has a building plan that consists by entering a horizontal-axis room through an entrance with a portico on the same axis. In Hilani buildings built as a temple, a room is added to these two rooms, which does not spoil the plan. This room is generally used as a warehouse.

Although the Bit-Hilani type, which is quite common in the Late Hittite settlements, is still a controversial issue in origin, the E structure, which is considered to be the pioneer of Hilani structures in Tilmen Höyük, written by Professor Refik Duru. Likewise, the E structure in Büyükkale, located in the Boğazköy Hattusa, has an entrance with a portico in front and a structure with a room divided into two at the back, with a lateral extension. The relationship of both Tilmen mound and Hattusa palace with the Hilanis is evident. But how did these structures turn into the Iron Age Hilanis?

Column bases in Zincirli (Sam'al)
Column bases in Zincirli (Sam’al)

It is obvious that such structures are popular in Hittite geography. It is also normal that porch entrances are needed in hot climates. In fact, it will not be surprising that these structures are of Anatolian origin.

Assyrian King II. Sargon mentions such a building in the Establishment text of Dur-Sharrukin.

“A portico, patterned after the Hittite palace, which in the language of Amurru they call a bit-hilani, I built in front of the palaces’ gates.”

Since the structure in the western corner of the palace terrace is not known exactly, it is possible that it is the structure described with these words. II. Sargon says that these structures are unique to the Hittites.

Dur-Şarrukin
Dur-Şarrukin

It is a search for an origin that is not exaggerated that our naming it an Anatolian-origin construction technique within the scope of the plan and explanations. However, Bit-Hilani buildings have developed continuously and the columns at the entrance have begun to be decorated with sculptures. For these columns, cedar wooden pillars are used, the front facade is decorated with reliefs, protom-headed lions and sphinxes.

İf when it comes to Tell Halaf, the Hilani façade evolves from pretentious to impressive. Kapara Palace in Tall Halaf stands out with its early Hilani. It is the earliest example of monumental Hilanis.

Entrance to the Aleppo National Museum, the reconstruction of the entrance to the Kapara palace at Tell Halaf
Entrance to the Aleppo National Museum, the reconstruction of the entrance to the Kapara palace at Tell Halaf

There were god statues on the sacred animals carrying the roof at the Hilani entrance of the Kapara Palace.

-Mother Goddess on the lioness (right)

-Storm God Tesup on the bull (center)

-The son of God Teshup is depicted on the lion (left).

It is the earliest example of using human figures.

Human figures are the oldest example used. It is not surprising to see that a situation ascribed to Greek art has a predecessor as early as 10 century BC. It is not an unknown phenomenon that Europe reached the development of Anatolia and Mesopotamia much later.

Athens Erechtheion temple
Athens Erechtheion temple

The Erechtheion temple in Athens (421-406 BC) was built centuries after this palace, but it is worth comparing with its style similarity. It was a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and the god Poseidon. The south columns formed by the Karyadit girls can be likened to hilani doorways. There is no doubt that the understanding of art here and the art understanding of those who made the Kapara Palace were at a level that could compete with each other. Although the materials used have changed, it is not difficult to see the same logic and understanding of art for these structures. It is not at all strange for the Ancient Greek artists to develop an architecture they have seen, from the idea that art is formed by a phenomenon of inspiration.

While Bit-Hilani is a structure open to development, can we associate the closed-to-development of the Ancient Greek Megoran structures with open to development face of the east? Who knows, maybe if we were the Teotihucan people who thought that the architectural structures were alive, we could have reached far more conclusions than this inference!

Related Articles

2000-year-old ancient Roman Road, described as the most important in Scottish history, has been discovered

3 November 2023

3 November 2023

A 2000-year-old ancient Roman road was unearthed in Old Inn Cottage’s garden near Stirling, Scotland. The site is located a...

Digs at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound reveals thousands of artworks

20 March 2022

20 March 2022

Approximately 14,500 artifacts have been unearthed during rescue excavations carried out over 33 years at Seyitömer Mound in Turkey’s western...

14,000-year-old settlement discovered in western Turkey

26 November 2021

26 November 2021

During the rescue excavation carried out in a cave in Dikili, İzmir, in western Turkey, 14 thousand-year-old stone tools and...

Ancient DNA Reveals Surprising Maternal Lineages at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

28 June 2025

28 June 2025

New research, utilizing ancient DNA analysis, is challenging long-held assumptions about kinship and societal structures in one of the world’s...

Aramaic four inscriptions found for the first time in eastern Turkey

17 September 2022

17 September 2022

Four inscriptions written in Aramaic were discovered in the ancient city with a grid plan, located on an area of...

An Amazing Discovery in the 1900-year-old Rock Church, – Sand Dollar Fossil

5 March 2024

5 March 2024

Located in the eastern province of Diyarbakır’s Eğil district, the rock church, the walls of which are decorated with different...

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will launch “The Painters of Pompeii” on June 26

23 June 2021

23 June 2021

A number of collection highlights will travel to North America for the first time as part of the exhibition The...

A 2100-year-old inscription found İn Türkiye: Antiochos of Commagene calls on the people to ‘obey and respect the law’

15 March 2024

15 March 2024

The ancient inscription found near Kımıldağı (Kımıl Mount) in Önevler village of Adıyaman’s Gerger district in 2023 will shed light...

This summer, a 2,000-year-old “thermopolium” fast-food restaurant in Pompeii will reopen to the public

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

Archaeologists excavated a 2000-year-old fast food and drink counter “termopolium” on the streets of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii...

Marble inlay floors found in a Sunken Roman villa in Baia, the Las Vegas of the ancient world

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

Expansion of research activities in the Terme del Lacus area in the sunken Baia park, known as the ‘Las Vegas’...

Rock tombs dating back 1,800 years have been discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Blaundus

1 October 2021

1 October 2021

In the ancient city of Blaundus, located in the Ulubey neighborhood of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, 400 rock-cut...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

An 8,500-year-old trepanned skull discovered in Çatalhöyük

23 December 2023

23 December 2023

Traces of trepanation (skull drilling operation) were found on a skull found in the 9,000-year-old Çatalhöyük, near the modern city...

1000-Year-Old Tomb Found in Perre Ancient City in southeast Turkey

1 July 2021

1 July 2021

A 1,000-year-old tomb was unearthed in the ancient city of Perre in Adiyaman province. Perre is one of the five...

The ‘extraordinary’ Roman mosaic depicting scenes from Homer’s Iliad unearthed in a Rutland farmer’s field is the first of its kind in England

25 November 2021

25 November 2021

The 1,500-year-old mosaic discovered by a farmer was considered Britain’s “most exciting” Roman find. The artwork was discovered on private...