The
historical site of Bogazkoy (Hattusas) is located at 82 km.
to the southwest of Çorum and it is 208 km. from Ankara.
Bogazkoy (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
seperations of mountain sides and deep clifts to the north
and west. The city is open towards the north and surrounded
by city 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
considered to be in Syria. In 1882, Carl Human came to
Bogazkoy 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 Bogazkoy 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 Bogazkoy (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 monumantal 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 appears 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 destruction 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 6-7th
centuries B.C. For the Hittite period this area is studied
in three sections defined according to the tophograpy. 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
insriptions 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
- 14th 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 aditons 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 seperated 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 the
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 Chalcolithic 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 Buyukkaya, which also witnessed the Phrygian
period, settlements from the early Phrygian period are
defined.
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