Bird divination text found in Hittite settlements –

A hittite wedge piece about explaining bird flight was found in the ancient Hittite settlement in Samuha (modern Kayalıpınar) in central Turkey. It is rare that tablets and their texts are complete and undamaged. Cuneiform text covers the front, back and edges of the tablet.

Preliminary readings show that the text refers to the flight of birds, which is a key element of Hittite divination. Hittites are known to use omens and verbal practices to communicate between humans and the divine realms. “This passage belongs to the category of bird teeth and is particularly important for understanding Hittite ritual culture.” [excavation team leader Cigem] Manner.

The feature that distinguishes it from other divination pieces found at the site is a hole in the center. Traces of rope material were found in the holes, and the wear pattern around the inside confirmed that the tablet might have been hanging from someone’s neck or wall.

The settlement was occupied for millennia, starting as an ancient Assyrian trading colony (karum) in the 20th-18th centuries BC The Karum period city was destroyed by fire, but when the Hittites became the dominant power in the region in the 14th century BC, they built a new city that was a major strategic launching pad for the Hittite military conquest and the central cult site for the worship of the Hittite goddess Ishtar.

Samuha became one of the most important religious centers in the Middle East and Middle East, mentioned in Anatolians, Mesopotamians and ancient Assyrians and Hittites. Most of the cuneiforms found on this site are related to the worship of Ishtar. Excavations at the site have found relics from the Assyrian trade colonial era, Hittite era, Roman and early Christian eras.