Archaeologists excavating Hattusa, the ancient capital of the Hittite Empire in modern-day Turkey, have discovered a cuneiform tablet fragment belonging to a copy of the Kadesh Peace Treaty.
The discovery was made near Building E in the Büyükkale area of Hattusa, located in the Boğazkale district of Çorum Province.
According to Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the fragment has been undergoing scientific analysis for approximately a year, with researchers now confirming that it forms part of the famous treaty concluded between the Hittite king Hattusili III and the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II during the 13th century BC.
Hattusa served as the political and administrative centre of the Hittite Empire, one of the major powers of the Late Bronze Age. Archaeological investigations at the site began in 1906, while Hattusa was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
The latest fragment preserves sections corresponding to articles 12 to 20 of the Kadesh Peace Treaty, which contain provisions concerning people who fled from one kingdom and sought refuge in the other.
Although portions of the tablet are missing, the surviving cuneiform text refers to fugitives from both Egypt and Hittite territory. Researchers have also identified provisions relating to the preservation of their homes.
The Kadesh Peace Treaty was concluded following a prolonged period of rivalry between the Hittite and Egyptian empires. The agreement established provisions for peace, mutual non-aggression, military assistance and the extradition of fugitives.
Copies of the treaty were produced by both powers. The Egyptian version survives in hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls, while the Hittite version was written in Akkadian using cuneiform script.
Fragments of the Hittite copies were first discovered during excavations at Hattusa between 1906 and 1912. These are now held in museum collections in Istanbul, Ankara, Berlin and St Petersburg.
The newly identified fragment adds another piece to the surviving Hattusa manuscripts and could help researchers reconstruct more of the original clay tablets.
Excavations at Büyükkale are continuing in the hope of locating further missing fragments of the treaty.
Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced the discovery on 21 September, coinciding with the International Day of Peace.
Ersoy said: “We have found traces of thousands of years of peace in the soil of Anatolia.”
Archaeological investigations at Hattusa are currently being conducted by the Istanbul branch of the German Archaeological Institute under the direction of Prof Dr Andreas Schachner.
Sources : AA
