ALACAHÖYÜK - HATTUŞAŞ

Alacahöyük site lays at 45 km. to the south from Çorum and is located 17 km to Alaca district towards northwest. It is within the settlement area of Alacahöyük village which is 34 km from Boğazköy and 210 km from Ankara

The mould was introduced to the world of science for the first time in 1835 by W.C.Hamilton and since then became a frequently visited spot for man of science who travel to Central Anatolia . G. Perrot came to the mould in 1861 during his Anatolian travels and revealed the plan of the four cornered tower on the left and right sides of the gate and one of the orthostadts. After this discovery, Perrot became the first person to claim that these relief’s belonged to the Hittite period.

W. Ramsley, who has made considerable contributions to the historical geography of Anatolia also studied the mound with Wilson in 1881 and added some new relief’s to those already known. When C. Chanter came to Anatolia in 1893, he visited the mound first and brought to light the square pass between the Sphinxes and the second entrance behind it and frames of the door. Chentre who made casts of the reliefs, moving from the themes they depicted claimed, like Perrot, that this was more likely a temple gate rather than one for a palace. Chantre who also studied the lions to the south of the gate with the Sphinx reinforce the fact, after Ramsey, that the inscriptions on one of them was Phrygian.

Later, H. Winckler who was working at Boğazköy since 1906, together with Makridi Bey and following the suggestion of Halil Ethem Bey who was the Director of İstanbul Archaeological Museum decided to carry out investigations at the mound. In 1907 Makridi Bey worked on the gate with the Sphinx for nearly 15 days and at the end found a few new orthostadts in front of the door. Following some boring work at several places on the mound, he saw the potern at the northern skirts of the hill and compared it with the one at Boğazköy.

The first systematic excavations in the real sense at the mound were started in 1935 as Atatürk initiated the period of national excavations after the establishment of the republic, on behalf of the Turkish History Association by Hamit Zübeyr Koşar, Remzi Oğuz Arık and Mahmut Akok, which continued until 1983. The excavations were halted at the time and started again in 1997 by Prof. Dr. Aykut Çınaroğlu.

As a result of the investigations and excavations which were carried out, 4 cultural layers were determined in the mound which was a scene of settlements from the Chalcolitic Age to the present without any interruptions. These layers which covered the Chalcolitic, Old Bronze, Hittite and Phrygian periods are divided into 15 architectural levels between them. According to this :

Calcholitic Age : 4000 - 3000 B. C. on main ground layers 15-9
Old Bronze Age : 3000 - 2000 B.C. layers 8-5
Hitttite period : 1800 - 1200 B.C.layers 4-2
Phrygian period : from 750 B.C. on layer 1

The first settlement of the mound built in the Chalcolitic Age was on a piece of land which was protected in the north by small hills and which was located above the water level, but did not progress beyond the status of being a small village. The architecture of the period consisted of stone foundations and mud brick walls above it and the roofs were covered with reeds and compressed with a flat earth roof.

The Old Bronze Age which followed the Chalcolitic, and represented by 4 building layers gained importance in Alacahöyük with the discovery of 13 royal graves. The graves which are claimed to belong to layers 5 and 7 were built by allocating a special place for them in the city and are unique examples in Anatolia and even Asia Minor . They belong to adult males and females. No children or babies were buried in these graves and no multiple burials were encountered. Unlike other grave types in Central Anatolia , there is a unity of orientation of both the graves and the dead in Alacahöyük. The grave gifts are the richest and have the greatest variety when compared to those known for the Agean and Asia Minor areas in the Old Bronze Age. Sundials, bull and deer statues, all types of ornamental objects, war weapons such as knives, daggers and axes all of which were made from baked earth, stone, gold, silver, bronze, copper and electron were offered. The architectural system of Alacahöyük during the Old Bronze Age was the construction technique specific to Anatolia , that is, mud brick walls on top of a stone foundation, plastered walls and floors, flat ceilings and earthen roofs.

The Hittite layers which make up the currently visible part of Alacahöyük consist of three building layers. At that a period a defense system was built around the mound shaped close to a circle with a 250 meter diameter and two main gates were found which provided entrance to the city over the defense system. One of these is the gate with the sphinx at southwest and the other is the one with the porten at the western part of the mound.

There are two Sphinxes at the southeast gate making up the religious entrance of the probable city in the mound. Heads are the distinguished features in the Sphinx protoms which are carved on monolithic stone jambs and are higher than two meters. In both Sphinxes, Hotor style hairs start from the forehead and come down to the shoulders and the hair ends in helozonic curls. The Sphinxes have bloated bodies protruding forward and are stand on short and set apart legs. On the inner side of the Sphinx on the east a double headed eagle carrying a rabbit in its claws and above it, the feet of a possible goddess with long garments, facing the city and part of her skirt have survived..

The reliefs which are under the towers at the east and west of the gate with the Sphinx are shaped in bas relief and have been only lightly shaped and the details are given with plasticity. Almost all of the western tower ortostadts can be followed as a continuous frieze. At this section we see that at the bottom cult-libation themes and at the top hunting scenes are described. In the holy day rituals which were celebrated in the honour of the storm god and which are also known from the Hittite texts the King and the Queen who were the chief priest and priestess are shown here in a praying position in front of the bull and the following relief’s describe the other parts of the ceremony. The people praying in front of the sitting goddess at the eastern tower also show the continuation of the cult ceremony.

Entering the gate with the sphinxes and passing through the entrance complex, the foundations of a large Hittite building defined as a temple-palace are seen at the right. This building is composed of various storage rooms and other complexes.

Alacahöyük excavations have an important place in world archaeology literature since it is the single center which provides a continous stratigraphy of the Northern Region of Central Anatolia and it enlightens the old Bronze Age with the 13 royal graves and the Hittite period with its ruins of monumental arcitectural buildings.

Boğazköy  

The historical site of Boğazköy (Hattusas) is located at 82 km. to the southwest of Çorum and it is 208 km. from Ankara . Boğazköy (Hattusas) site which was located at the core region of the Hittite state is at the southern end of the Budaközü River valley, at an elevation of 300 meters from the plain surrounded by numerous rock masses and the separations of mountain sides and deep clifts to the north and west. The city is open towards the north and surrounded by ctity walls on all sides except the north.

The Hattusas historical site was first visited by Charles Dexter in 1834 and introduced to the world. Later Sayce made the first connection between with these ruins and the Hittite state as until that time the center of the Hittites was consdiered to be in Syria . In 1882, Carl Human came to Boğazköy with Otto Puchstein and they, for the first time made a comprehensive planning study. They also made castings of Yazılıkaya which is currently at the Pergamon museum. During the years 1893-1894 E. Chantre carried out the first explorative excavations and in 1905 Makridi and H.Winckler visited Boğazköy and carried out the excavations which continued until 1917. The systematic excavations which were started in 1932 by Kurt Bittel on behalf of the German Archaeological Instutute were stopped for a while during the IInd World War and the work was later resumed and continued under the same excavation leader until 1978. The excavations which are carried out under the leadership of Dr. Peter Neve from 1978 to 1993 is still progressing on behalf of the same institution by Dr. Jurgen Seer.

Settlements existed at the Boğazköy (Hattusas) site since IIIrd millenium B.C. The small and fortified settlements of that period were at Büyükkale and its environs. In the 19th and 18th centuries B.C. settlements from the age of Assyrian Trade Colonies are seen at the Lower City and the name of the city was first discovered from written documents of that era.

The first period of development at Hattusas terminated with a major fire and the culprit behind this fire must be the Kushara King Anitta. According to documents, right after this destruction, around 1700 B.C Hattusas was settled once more and became the capital of the Hittite state in 1600's and its builder was Hattusilis I. who had a Kushara origin just like Anitta.

After Hattusas became the capital, a monumental building development can be seen at the farthest point of the spreading settlement and the city took its 13 century B.C form with 2 km wide palace and temple districts. In the second development period of Hattusas three important Hittite kings played a significant role both from within and without during the last years of the Empire. They were Hattusilis III, his son Tudhaliyas IV, and his son Suppiuliumas II. When the Hittite state was destroyed due to economic hardships and internal strife during the last years of the Suppiuliumas II reign (1190 B.C) Boğazköy was abandoned for a period of 4 centuries and the first settlements seen after this gap is Phrygian (middle of 8th century B.C.) During the Hellenistic and Roman times (3rd century B.C - 3rd century A.D.) Hattusas is a fiefdom center surrounded by a small wall and it iappears as a village during the Byzantine period.

The part of Hattusas known as the Upper City is a sloped land of more than 1 kilometer square. This area has witnessed the development of the city during the late Empire Period in 13th century B.C. A major part of the Upper City solely consisted of temples and sacred places. Upper City is surrounded at south by a city wall which draws a large arch and this wall has 5 gates. At the futhest southern point of the wall and at the highest point of the city, the gate with the Sphinxes is located with its bastion rising above anything else. Of the other four gates the two facing one another at the southern and western tips of the city walls are the royal gate and the gate with the lion.

The building development seen in the Upper City has been in three stages. The first stage coincides with the construction of the city walls. The second is the stage of rebuilding and giving the temple city its final form following the first destructon of the walls. During the last stage a new construction acitivity had started besides the repairs and renovations carried out at the existing buildings for purposes other than the religious ones. In the Upper City , the area known as the districy of the temples reaches from the gate with the Sphinxes to Nişantepe and Sarıkale. In this part many temples were revealed orignating from different stages. The general characteristics of the temple plans were defined by the cult room groups which are entered from a central court yard and consist of a narrow fore-space and a deep main space. The material obtained from the temples are divided into five groups.

1- Utilized ceramics,
2- Utilized tools,
3- Weapons,
4- Cult objects,
5- Written documents.

In the Upper City Post - Hittite buildings at Nişantepe and Güneykale which are right at the front of Büyükkale are significant and this is the Phrygian settlement which is dated to 6-7 centuries B.C. For the Hittite period this area is studied in three sections defined according to the topography. The pass to the south of Büyükkale (Viaduct), the plateau which was previously settled which is to the north of Nişantepe on both sides of the roads leading to Upper City , and the area at the site of Güneykale.

The road network which connected to Nişantepe and the Upper City through the viaduct reaches a complex with a stone laid inner court with buildings on the north, south and east sides and a gate on the fourth.

An important building besides the northern and southern structures is the western building and the palace Archives. It is assumed that the building which was destroyed in a big fire had two basement floors on the slope. In these two basements nearly 3300 annals and 30 tablets with hieroglyph inscriptions were found. 2/3 of the annals carry the Great King seals and in chronological order represent Kings from Suppiuliuma I to the last king of Hattusas , his great son Suppiuliuma II. Queen seals besides the king seals were also discovered.

The construction at Güneykale was realized by Suppiuliuma II. There is a large artificial lake and three buildings on three seperate points around it. Of the two buildings which are still standing and named Room 1 and 2; Room 2 is to the west of the northern corner of the lake. This room which has a single space has a parabolic dome which diminishes as it becomes narrower towards the inside. There were few remains found in situ in Room1. All three walls of room 2 are decorated with reliefs. The main picture on the opposite wall has a figure with a long garment which faces towards the left. There is a sundial with wings on the round head dress and the figure holds a litus in the left hand and an anch motif in the right. On the west wall facing it there is a hierographic inscription.

The excavations carried out at Büyükkale which is built on a hill of natural rock area to the south of the city proper has revealed the palace buildings of the Hittite Kings in 13 - 14 century B.C and the characteristics of the wall systems which were for their defense. The walls of the castle whose entrance gate is at southwest are built on beds carved into rock at north and south and on a piled earth level in the south with the chest wall technique. The palace building cannot be seen as a whole from Büyükkale. Buildings of varying types and sizes which were revealed with excavations, large interior spaces connected together with courts and columned galleries form the whole within the castle . The castle has rooms for archives and storage, a large reception hall, buildings related to the water cult and sacred spaces. Remains of Phrygian buildings were found at the castle following the Hittites.

One of the most important architectural sites at Boğazköy is the Great Temple ( Temple no.1). The Great Temple which formed the center of the northern city in Hattusas was built as the home of Storm God of Hatti and the Sun Goddess of the Arinna City . The temple has two additions and there are stone paved roads and squares around it and storage rooms behind in all four directions open up to them are located behind. The Great Temple is separated from the districts of the Lower City with a wall. The Great Temple which is built on a stone terrace obviously served as an economic center as well as a religious center as the large jugs which are revealed in situ at the shops indicate. Again the tablets found at the eastern shops of the temple shows the existence of an archives.

The Great Temple is surrounded by buildings of secondary importance. Most important one among them is the Slope House. It deserves attention with its large size, its plan and the fact that it is a multi-storey building.

Excavations at the Hattusas historical site are carried out at Büyükkaya since 1993. The discovered ceramics show that a small settlement which was first built during the Chalcolitic Age was still a settlement during the period known as the Dark Age. However the investigations have shown that there were large silos with stone paved floors during the Empire period. At Büyükkaya, which also witnessed the Phrygian period, settlements from the early Phrygian period are defined.

Yazılıkaya Open Air MUSEUM

Yazılıkaya which is located 2 km to the northwest of Hattusas historical site was the Open Air Shrine of the Hittite Empire. It consists of a natural rock of two rooms and a Hittite temple in front of it which reflects the characteristics of the Hittite architecture.

In Yazılıkaya open air shrine there is a Big Gallery named Room A, and the Small Gallery, named Room B both of which are built into natural rock.

The west wall of the Big Gallery (room A) is decorated with god reliefs while the east wall is decorated with reliefs of the goddesses and the figures on both walls face the section where the main scene is and the east and west walls join the north wall. The gods generally have pointed hats, short garments belted at the waist, shoes with upturned points and earrings. Most of them carry a curved sword or a mace. All of the goddesses wear long skirted garments and on their heads sit cylindrical head dresses. On the north wall where the east and west walls meet there are the chief gods, composing the main scene. Here we see the Mountain God Teshup standing above the air gods, his wife goddess Hepatu and their son Sharruma and a double headed eagle. The relief of King Tuthalia IV is on the east wall and it is the largest relief of the gallery.

The Small Gallery (room B) which has a separate entrance is protected by winged, lion headed and human bodied genie placed on both sides of the entrance. There are twelve gods proceeding towards the right on the west wall of room B and the God of Sword and King Tuthalia IV who is under the protection of God Sharruma on the east wall. Besides the well preserved relief’s, this section has three niches carved into the rock which are assumed to be used for some gifts or the ashes of the Hittite royal familiy.

With all these features and the addition of the spaces built at the front, Yazılıkaya has survived to our times as a Hittite shrine.