Kayalıpınar

Šamuḫa

Türkiye · Sivas

Ancient cityExcavation ongoing
Approximate period2,000 BCE — 700 CEAssyrian Trading Colonies, Hittite, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine See on the map ↓

In brief

Kayalıpınar, near the Kızılırmak River, is identified with Šamuḫa, mentioned in Hittite texts. Written documents and seal impressions shed light on the settlement's commercial and administrative relationships.

What was found?

  • 1Cuneiform tablets

    Fragments of texts in Old Assyrian, Hittite, and Hurrian have been found. They provide written evidence about trade, correspondence, and rituals.

  • 2Seal impressions of the royal family

    These are clay impressions bearing the names and titles of royal family members. According to researchers, they contribute to a reassessment of the family's history.

  • 3Officials' seal impressions

    These impressions bear the names of officials such as chief scribes, scribes, and lords of the rock temple. They document the instruments used to authenticate administrative and economic documents.

  • 4Relief of a seated goddess

    A seated goddess holding a drinking vessel and a bird is depicted on a doorway stone of Building A. It shows the religious decoration of the monumental building.

What does it point to?

The tablets and seals reveal an administrative system that operated through writing and connections with royal circles. Documents in different languages show that trade relations and rituals left their mark on the history of the same settlement.

What did it teach us?

  1. Documented the names and titles of royal family members and high-ranking officials.
  2. Uncovered written documents from the Old Assyrian trade period and the Hittite period at the same settlement.
  3. According to researchers, the monumental building and reliefs showed that the administrative center was also connected with religious functions.

Images

Kayalıpınar 13
Ingeborg Simon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

In 2024, new seal impressions associated with princes and high-ranking officials were announced to the public.

Record

Culture
Assyrian trading colonies, Hittite, Roman and Byzantine
Team / historical
Çiğdem Maner / Koç Üniversitesi
Coordinates
39.6115°, 36.5112°

Sources

  1. uni-marburg.de
  2. aa.com.tr
  3. en.wikipedia.org

Nearby excavations


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12.000

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