Hattusa is a lost and buried city in Türkiye, Asia. UNESCO World Heritage List: Hattusha: the Hittite Capital dates it to c. 1650-1200 BCE. Its listed material is Limestone.
The Hittite capital, entered through the Lion Gate and King's Gate.
What makes it extraordinary
Defensive Architecture and Scale
At its peak in the 14th century BC, Hattusa covered approximately 1.8 square kilometers and was protected by a massive fortification system exceeding 6 kilometers in length. The walls were engineered with inner and outer layers, each roughly 3 meters thick, separated by a 2-meter gap to create a total thickness of 8 meters. The city was divided into an inner portion of 0.8 square kilometers, containing the royal acropolis at Büyükkale, and a 1-square-kilometer outer city featuring elaborate gateways decorated with reliefs of warriors, lions, and sphinxes.
History of Systematic Excavation
The ruins were first brought to international attention by Charles Texier in 1834, but systematic excavations only began in the early 20th century. Hugo Winckler's work for the German Oriental Society starting in 1906 was pivotal, as his discovery of thousands of tablets firmly identified the site as the Hittite capital. Excavations were led by Kurt Bittel for nine seasons until 1939 and resumed in 1952. Subsequent directors, including Peter Neve and Jürgen Seeher, shifted focus from the monumental Upper City to residential and economic areas like Büyükkaya.
The Cuneiform Royal Archives
Excavations at Hattusa recovered approximately 30,000 clay tablets, collectively known as the Bogazköy Archive. This corpus includes official correspondence, legal codes, cult ceremonies, and literature written in Akkadian, Sumerian, and the previously unreadable Hittite language. A significant discovery within this archive is the Treaty of Kadesh, a peace settlement between the Hittites and the Egyptians under Ramesses II from circa 1259 BC. A copy of this document, recognized as one of the earliest international peace treaties, is displayed at the United Nations in New York City.
Significant Bronze and Metal Finds
Archaeological work has yielded unique metal artifacts, including a large inscribed bronze tablet found near the Sphinx Gate in 1986. Weighing 5 kilograms and measuring 35 by 24 centimeters, it records a 13th-century BC treaty between King Tudḫaliya IV and Kurunta of Tarḫuntašša. Additionally, a Mycenaean bronze sword was discovered on the western slope in 1991. The sword bears an Akkadian inscription stating it was dedicated to the Storm-God by Great King Tudhaliya after he defeated the Assuwa-Country, providing evidence of international military and religious activity.
Discovery of the Westbau Bullae
During the 1990-91 excavation season, archaeologists discovered a significant cache of 3,400 sealed bullae and clay lumps in the 'Westbau' building of the upper city. These artifacts date to the second half of the 13th century BC and are primarily associated with land documents. This find, along with the royal archives, underscores the city's role as a sophisticated administrative hub where legal and economic transactions were meticulously recorded and sealed by the Hittite state apparatus during its final century of operation.
Chronological Development of Hattusa
The site of Hattusa shows evidence of human occupation dating back to the 6th millennium BC during the Chalcolithic period. By the late 3rd millennium BC, the Hattian people established a settlement they called Hattush on locations previously occupied. During the 19th and 18th centuries BC, Assyrian merchants from Kanesh established a distinct trading post in the lower city. The city suffered significant destruction by fire around 1700 BC, attributed to King Anitta of Kussara, who left an inscribed curse against anyone who might resettle the site.
Establishment as the Hittite Imperial Seat
Despite King Anitta's curse, Hattusa was rebuilt and became the Hittite capital around 1650 BC when King Labarna moved the seat of power from Neša. Upon this move, he adopted the name Hattusili, meaning 'one from Hattusa.' The city's status as capital fluctuated due to external threats; it was temporarily moved north to Sapinuwa following Kaskian attacks and later south to Tarhuntassa under Muwatalli II. However, the seat was eventually returned to Hattusa in the mid-13th century BC by Mursili III, where it remained until the empire's collapse.
Religious and Residential Urban Planning
The urban landscape of Hattusa featured a clear distinction between monumental stone structures and perishable residential buildings. The inner city housed large administrative buildings and the Great Temple, while the outer city contained four additional temples, each organized around a porticoed courtyard. While the stone-built walls of these temples and palaces remain visible, the city's residential houses, constructed from timber and mud bricks, have completely vanished. Modern estimates suggest the city supported a population of approximately 10,000 people, with one-third residing in the inner city during its early period.
Abandonment and Late Bronze Age Decline
Hattusa was destroyed around 1200 BC as part of the broader Late Bronze Age collapse. Archaeological evidence suggests the city was not suddenly conquered but gradually abandoned over several decades as the Hittite state disintegrated. While signs of final destruction by fire exist, researchers believe this occurred after the royal family, elites, and administrative apparatus had already departed. A regional drought has been proposed as a contributing factor to this decline. Following the Hittite departure, distinct agricultural communities settled among the ruins as early as the 12th century BC.
Restoration and Repatriation of the Sphinxes
A pair of monumental sphinxes originally located at the southern gate of Hattusa were removed for restoration in Germany in 1917. While the better-preserved sphinx was returned to Turkey in 1924 and housed in Istanbul, the second remained at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin for decades. Following negotiations, the second sphinx was returned to Turkey in 2011. Both artifacts are now reunited and displayed at the Boğazköy Museum near the original ruins, restoring the integrity of the archaeological context for these significant Hittite sculptures.
