Written by: Amar Tufo

www.amartufoblog.com
23.07.2020

Hittite sanctuary at Yazilikaya

H ittite sanctuary at Yazilikaya is one of the most important sanctuary

of the Hittite empire. The sanctuary it self is located 1 km from the
Hittite capital of Hatuša. The sanctuary is formed of two natural rock galleries
whose inner faces are carved with reliefs of the gods and goddesses of the
Hittite pantheon.

The sanctuary was built sometimes between 1250 – 1220 B.C. It consist of an
irregular limestone rock massif covering an area of about 50x80 m. The reliefs
were cut into the inside-facing walls of two courts, designated as chamber A
and chamber B.
The chamber A is natural internal enclosure, covering an area around 30 m. In
the first and main chamber A of the temple, the left rock face shows the 42
warrior like goods walking in sideways relief towards the right, while the right
rock face shows 21 goddesses in a row, walking towards the left to meet the
gods in the middle.

The gods are in their characteristically short kills, conical helmets and shoes
with curling toes, and are presented carrying a mace or a scythe-shaped
scimitar. The female goddesses are all wearing trailing gowns with tall
cylindrical headdresses and long hair down their backs.

Some gods were identified over the hieroglyphs written above their head. On
the left we have Teshub, the weather god, standing on the shoulders of two
mountain gods with head bowed forward, and Hepat, the sun goddess and wife
of Tehsub, standing on a panther.

From this gallery, there’s a path that leads to long narrow smaller chamber B.
The chamber B is quite different, consisting of a cleft that is 18 m long and only
2.15 m wide at it’s narrow south end and 4.5 m at it’s north end.
In it’s walls there’s a relief panel which depicts 12 warrior gods, which were
identified to be the gods of underworld. On the opposite side is a large relief of
the deity Sarumna, son of the sun goddess Hepat and the weather god Teshub.

His arm is protectively round a smaller figure known from the hieroglyph to be
Tudhalia, a Hittite Great King. Many archaeologist have suggested that this
inner chamber was used mainly for funeral rites of the Hittite kings.

Some archaeologist have suggested that Yazilikaya was inhabited from 1600
B.C but was later transformed into a vast sanctuary by the Hittite king Tudhalia
IV. The sanctuary was abandoned when the Hittite control over central Anatolia
collapsed around 1190 B.C.

Although over 33, 000 fragments of tablets have been found in Hattuša, not a
single one mentioned the rock sanctuary.

[+] References

[1] Zanger, Eberhard & Gautschy, Rita (2019)

The Hittite rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya: A time keeping device from c.1230
B.C

[2] Darke, Diana (2014)

The Eastern Turkey
© The Bradt Travel Guides Ltd, UK, p110