18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The ancient city of Karkamış “House of the Seal” brings a different perspective to the Hittite-Assyrian relations with its important finds

Historical artifacts discovered during excavations by Turkish and Italian teams in the ancient city of Karkamış (Carchemish) in southern Gaziantep province have offered new insights into the region’s history and Assyrian-Hittite interactions.

Carchemish, a strategically important place due to being on the Syrian trade routes, was a valuable kingdom for the Hittites, Mitanni, and Hurrians. The Kingdom of Carchemish, which was joined to the Hittite lands by Suppiluliuma I, has always been a vassal of the Hittite kingdom.

Karkamis was the most important administrative center in the region of the Hittite Empire, which ruled over Anatolia and Mesopotamia for centuries.

Ancient city of Karkamis. Photo: AA

In a report prepared by the Turkish-Italian team following the completion of the 10th season of excavations, the team kept finding artifacts from the Hittite Empire era, when the city was at its peak, in the eastern part of the lower palace area. Dozens of clay seals belonging to the highest officials of the Hittite administration were discovered in the administrative structure called the “House of the Seal” in this area. By determining which goods these seals were applied to, researchers are able to piece together the basic idea of how the administration ran the vassal kingdom of Karkamış.

Another important find in the structure called the “House of the Seal” is a bulla with seal impressions on it, thought to belong to Piradu, one of the leading merchants of the Middle Assyrian Empire. It is hoped that determining Piradu’s identification may aid in the research of Hittite-Assyrian ties, which deteriorated towards the demise of the Hittite kingdom, as well as the timing of various events during the era.

The most important find of the city is undoubtedly the Anatolian hieroglyphic inscription on a piece of pottery that reads “X-patu, the Manager of the City,”, a discovery encountered for the first time in Anatolia.

Anatolian hieroglyphic writing example. Photo: Luwian Studies

The Anatolian Hieroglyphic script is a mixed writing system which contains both phonetic and semantographic signs. It is a native script specific to Central Anatolia, consisting of some 500 signs. They were originally known as Hittite hieroglyphs, but the language they encode proved to be Luwian, not Hittite, and the term Luwian hieroglyphs are used in English publications.

They are typologically similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs but do not derive artistically from that script, and they are not known to have played the sacred role of hieroglyphs in Egypt. There is no evidence of a link to Hittite cuneiform.

The first inscriptions confirmed as Luwian date to the Late Bronze Age, ca. 14th to 13th centuries BC.

Furthermore, the excavations indicated that the administrative building was still in use during the Iron Age. Around 100 seals from that time period were discovered, including rare Anatolian Hieroglyphic seal impressions. The fact that nearly two-thirds of the seal impressions belong to a woman called Matiya is also noteworthy.  It is emphasized that this may be an indication that women may have had an important economic role in the state administration at the time.

Related Articles

Remarkably Preserved Bronze Age Urns, Thousands of Years Old, Unearthed in Germany

13 May 2025

13 May 2025

What appeared to be an ordinary stretch of County Road 17 between the towns of Moisburg and Immenbeck has turned...

Archaeologists Unveil Sanctuary of Odysseus on Ithaca: A Monumental Discovery Rooted in Myth and History

15 June 2025

15 June 2025

A major archaeological breakthrough on the Greek island of Ithaca has brought new clarity to the island’s legendary past. Researchers...

A 4,000-year-old treasure map of France’s

17 October 2023

17 October 2023 1

Overlooked for millennia, a rock fragment adorned with enigmatic inscriptions has emerged as a valuable “treasure map” for archaeologists. After...

Archaeologists have found an intriguing Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered an interesting ancient Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds, which was marked out by meticulously placed...

2,000-Year-Old Mysterious Kangju Burial Mound Filled with Gold Jewelry and Mirror Found in Kazakhstan

2 June 2024

2 June 2024

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have unearthed gold jewelry, arrowheads, and a large, bronze mirror from three burial mounds in the Tolebaitobe...

Scientists Use Artificial İntelligence to Study Ancient Australian Rock Art

1 April 2021

1 April 2021

Rock art is the oldest surviving human art form. Throughout Australia, petroglyphs are part of the life and customs of...

A Large Roman Building Discovered on the Limmat

13 April 2024

13 April 2024

In the Steinacher area (Canton of Aargau) on the Limmat there was a Roman settlement that was significantly larger than...

Burial site for Enigmatic Anglo-Saxon King Cerdic found, author claims

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

The possible final resting place of Cerdic, the enigmatic founder of the Kingdom of Wessex and a key figure in...

Minoan civilization may have used celestial navigation techniques

3 March 2023

3 March 2023

According to a study done by an American researcher at the University of Wales, ancient civilizations may have used celestial...

Vase for holy oil used by ‘hidden Christians’ in Japan

24 May 2023

24 May 2023

After the family that had passed it down through the generations permitted the artifact to be examined, a relic from...

5,000-Year-Old “Küllüoba Bread” Discovered in Türkiye Reveals Ancient Baking and Fertility Rituals

30 May 2025

30 May 2025

5,000-year-old bread found in Küllüoba Höyük, Turkey reveals ancient baking methods and fertility rituals. Unique archaeological discovery with rich nutritional...

Archaeologists discover Stargazer idol fragment in Turkey’s In the ancient city of Beçin

15 December 2021

15 December 2021

During archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Beçin in the Milas district of southern Turkey’s Muğla, the head of...

In Turkey’s Gedikkaya Cave, a stone figurine was discovered inside a 16,500-year-old votive pit

17 December 2022

17 December 2022

A stone figurine was discovered in a 16500-year-old votive pit belonging to the Epi-paleolithic period, the transition phase from the...

200 Feet to the Past: The Millennium-Old Mystery of the Himalayan Towers

8 May 2025

8 May 2025

In the remote and rugged landscapes of the Himalayas, a series of enigmatic structures known as the Himalayan Towers, or...

Archeologists discover 2000-year-old Roman coins on the deserted Swedish island of Gotska Sandön

14 April 2023

14 April 2023

Archaeologists found 2,000-year-old Roman coins on the Swedish deserted island of Gotska Sandön. Previously, ancient Roman coins were discovered on...