Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions: An Archaeological and Philological Inquiry on the

Hittite Evidence
Author(s): Yiğit Erbil and Alice Mouton
Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies , April 2012, Vol. 71, No. 1 (April 2012), pp. 53-
74
Published by: The University of Chicago Press

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Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions: An
Archaeological and Philological Inquiry
on the Hittite Evidence
Yiğit Erbil, The Hacettepe University, Ankara
Alice Mouton, UMR 7044, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Strasbourg1

According to the Hittite cuneiform texts, water was
seen as an effective purifying element.2 Used in the
form of lustrations or even full baths during ritual
performances, its cleansing power is self-evident.
Moreover, the Hittite texts also attest to the sacred
character of water through the cult given to the river-
and the spring-goddesses.3 Water places were also used
for divination. This is more specifically the case of the
altanni- water place, which could be a basin, where
ichthyomancy is performed.4 One should also think
of the ordeal practices mentioned in the Hittite Laws
1 
The archaeological discussions of this article were inspired by
Yiğit Erbil’s doctoral dissertation “Hitit dönemi su kültü” (Water
Cult in the Hittite Period), Hacettepe University, June 2005. The
philological comments were made by Alice Mouton. The textual
evidence is not intended to be exhaustive, for only a representative
sample has been selected by the authors. This essay was awarded the
second Oliver Gurney Essay Prize by Liverpool University in 2009.
2 
See, for instance, R. Strauss, Reinigungsrituale aus Kizzu-
watna (Berlin, 2006), 137–40.
3 
V. Haas, Die Geschichte der hethitischen Religion (Leiden,
1994), 464–65.
4 
D. Lefèvre-Novaro and A. Mouton, “Aux origins de l’ichthyo­
mancie en Anatolie ancienne: sources archéologiques et textuelles,”
Anatolica 34 (2008): 7–51.
under the expression “to go to the river.”5 As deities,
rivers were usually associated with mountain gods, as
the texts often show. This association is also demon-
strated by the rock reliefs systematically located near
rivers.6 Other monuments related to water are noticed
in various Hittite localities: Boğazköy itself (fig. 1),
but also Yalburt, Kuşaklı, and Eflatun Pınar. In this
article, we would like to address the following ques-
tions: What were the modalities of the so-called water
cult in Hittite religion? Is the expression “water cult”
appropriate to designate the relationship that existed
between water and ancient Anatolian religious prac-
tices? In order to try to answer these questions, we will
consider the following points: (1) water as a road, that
is, how water might be used by both deities and hu-
man beings for traveling from one world to the other;
(2) water places connected with cultic/ritual activities;
and (3) unclear connections between a cultic area and
water in the archaeological evidence.
5 
J. Puhvel, Hittite Etymological Dictionary. Trends in Linguis-
tics (Berlin, 1988) (hereafter HED), vol. H, 114 with bibliography.
6 
K. Kohlmeyer, “Felsbilder des hethitischen Grossreichszeit,”
Acta Prehistorica et Archaeologica 15 (1983): 7–153; and T. Ökse’s
­recent research (still unpublished).

[JNES 71 no. 1 (2012)] © 2012 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 022–2968–2012/7101–006 $10.00.

53

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54  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Figure 1—Based on the general plan of Boğazköy/Hattuša (J. Seeher [ed.], Ergebnisse der Grabungen an den Ostteichen und am mittleren
Büyükkale-Nordwesthang in den Jahren 1996–2000, Boğazköy-Berichte 8, Mainz am Rhein, 2 Abb. 1).

I. Water as a Road I.1.1. Rooms 1 and 2

I.1. Archaeological Evidence: The Südburg
Complex at Boğazköy (figs. 2 and 3)
The Südburg cultic complex is very close to Nişantaş
and is orientated toward Büyükkale. The site was ex-
cavated from 1988 onward by P. Neve.
In Room 1,7 no archaeological material was found.
The same observation is true of Room 2, which is
7 
P. Neve, Hattuša. Stadt der Götter und Tempel, Sonderhefte
der antiken Welt (Mainz am Rhein, 1993), 69; P. Neve, “Die Aus-
grabungen in Boğazköy-Hattuša 1988,” Archäologischer Anzeiger

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 Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 55

Figure 2—Based on the plan of the Südburg Complex at Boğazköy (J. D. Hawkins, ed. The Hieroglyphic Inscription of the Sacred Pool
Complex at Hattusa [Südburg], Studien zu der Boğazköy-Texten Beiheft 3 [Wiesbaden, 1995], Abb. 2).

made of limestone blocks. Some of the blocks of this
room were reused in another construction during
the Iron Age period.8 The eastern wall of Room 2 is
decorated with an unfinished relief representing the
Great King Šuppiluliuma in the guise of a warrior
accompanied by a short inscription that reads “PU-
RUS.FONS.MI MAGNUS.REX” (Šuppiluliuma,
Great King). This representation faces a hieroglyphic
inscription on the western wall of the Room 2 com-
plex. According to J. D. Hawkins, the inscription in-
dicates that Šuppiluliuma II offered this complex to
the gods as an offering giving thanks after a successful
(1989): 313–32; P. Neve, “Boğazköy-Hattuşaş 1988 kazı mevsimi
sonuçları,” 11. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı I (1989): 230.
8 
J. Seeher, Hattusha-Guide. A Day in the Hittite Capital (Is-
tanbul, 1999), 86.
battle. Furthermore, a relief representing a sun god
(or the Great King under the representation of the
Sun God, or even both at the same time?)9 holding
the hieroglyphic VITA sign in his right hand is shown
on the southern wall facing the entrance of the room.
9 
E. Masson, “Le complexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’ (Hattuša):
Quelques réflexions,” in Akten des IV. Internationalen Kongresses für
Hethitologie, Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 45, ed. G. Wilhelm
(Wiesbaden, 2001), 378. The other possibility is to consider that
representation as the “Sun god of the water” mentioned in some
cuneiform texts (J. Börker-Klähn, “Unterweltskonstruktionen,” in
In Memoriam I: Metin Akyurt Bahattin Devam, ed. A. Erkanal,
et al. [Istanbul, 1995] 66, with bibliography). Unlike Masson, we
do not think that the double sun-disk is sufficient evidence for sug-
gesting the presence of the Sun goddess of the earth beside the Sun
god in the southern relief of chamber 2. The double sun-disk may
have a less specific meaning.

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56  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Figure 3—Based on the reconstruction of the Südburg Complex (Hawkins ed., Hieroglyphic Inscription, Abb. 18).

At the feet of the sun god, a rectangular hole has been
discovered (fig. 4). It is 40 cm wide by 50 cm deep.
On the southern wall, some traces were found that
may have been made by an object in direct contact.10
At the northern side of Room 2 stands Temple 31,
which may have been functionally connected with the
complex.
I.1.2. The Sacred Pool within the so-
called Ostteiche Ensemble at Boğazköy
Pond 1 in the Ostteiche ensemble is also identified as
“the sacred pool” in Hawkins’s publication. Room 2
is at the northern corner of Pond 1, whereas Room 1
10 
Neve, Hattuša, 70.
is at its western corner. At the southeastern side of
Pond 1, another pond can be found, namely Pond 2.
Both ponds are sloped on their inner sides and lined
with stones.11 The bottom surfaces are constructed
of natural serpentine stone, which is waterproof. On
the top of the serpentine stone, a thick layer of earth
was discovered. This layer probably corresponds to
the period during which the ponds were abandoned.
The topography of the area suggests that the water
would have come from outside of the city (one pos-
sible source of the water might be a spring at İbikçam,
a nearby forested and mountainous area on the south
11 
P. Neve, “Kammer 2 und der ‘Heilige Teich,” in The Hi-
eroglyphic Inscription of the Sacred Pool Complex at Hattusa
­(SÜDBURG), Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten Beiheft 3, ed. J. D.
Hawkins ­(Wiesbaden, 1995), 9.

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 Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 57

Figure 4—View of room 2 of the Südburg Complex (Neve, Hattuša, 76, Abb. 211). Source: German Archaeological Institute, Boğazköy
Project.

of the Upper City), but precipitation might also have
filled the ponds. The ponds were used during two
periods: during the later period, which coincides with
the construction of Rooms 1 and 2, the ponds were
repaired.12 This later period of construction should
be dated to the Imperial period (thirteenth century
b.c.e.).13 Inside both ponds, several votive ceramics
were uncovered, which demonstrate that the ponds
were partly used as sacred pools. When the Südburg
complex was built, both ponds of the Ostteiche en-
semble were probably also used in connection with it.
This is particularly clear for the so-called sacred pool,
that is, Pond 1. However, the main function of Pond 2
was most probably still to supply water.14 A dam was
built between the two ponds.15
I.1.3. Possible Significance of the Südburg Complex
The first question surrounds the relief of Šuppiluliuma
as a warrior (fig. 5). As he wears a horned cap,
one might suggest that he is a dead king. There-
fore, the relief represents either the already dead
Šuppiluliuma I or the living Šuppiluliuma II. In the
second case, the horned cap would rather indicate that
the relief is a representation of the Great King un-
der the image of the Stormgod.16 However, Hawkins
favors the first interpretation, basing his opinion on

12 
J. Seeher, “Die hethitischen Ostteiche,” in Ergebnisse der 14 
Seeher, “Die hethitischen Ostteiche,” 22–23.
Grabungen an den Ostteichen und am mittleren Büyükkale- 15 
Neve, Hattuša, 70.
Nordwest­hang in den Jahren 1996–2000, Boğazköy-Berichte 8, ed. 16 
E. Masson, “Le complexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’: Quelques
J. Seeher (Mainz am Rhein, 2006), 3. réflexions,” Archivum Anatolicum 4 (2000): 126; Masson, “Le
13 
Neve, “Kammer 2,” 11–12. complexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’,” in G. Wilhelm, ed., Akten, 380.

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58  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Figure 5—Relief of room 2 of the Südburg Complex representing Šuppiluliuma (Neve, Hattuša, 76, Abb. 214). Source: German
Archaeological Institute, Boğazköy Project.

various parallels.17 If Hawkins is correct, the dead
Šuppiluliuma I would be represented as a protective
ancestor of Šuppiluliuma II, the builder of the Süd-
burg complex.
The hieroglyphic inscription on the western
wall was edited by J. D. Hawkins.18 According to
him, it relates the victorious military campaigns of
17 
Hawkins, Hieroglyphic Inscription, 19–20. For a different
opinion, see Masson “Le complexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’,” in G. Wil-
helm, ed., Akten, 380 n. 48, with bibliography.
18 
Hawkins, Hieroglyphic Inscription, 22–23.
Šuppiluliuma II19 and mentions, in its last sentence,
19 
However, it has to be noted that there is a debate on the
translation ‘I subjected’ for the key expression of this inscrip-
tion, namely INFRA á-ka. H. C. Melchert rejects this translation
whereas E. Rieken and I. Yakubovich accept it (H. Craig Melchert,
“Tarhuntašša in the Südburg Hieroglyphic Inscription,” in Recent
­Developments in Hittite Archaeology and History. Papers in Memory
of Hans G. Güterbock, ed. K. Aslıhan Yener and Harry A. Hoffner
[Winona Lake, IN 2002], 137–43; E. Rieken, “Lat. ‘egi, führte,
ieci, warf ’ und h.-luw. INFRA a-ka, unterwarf,’” in Verba Docenti:
Studies in Historical and Indo-European Linguistics Presented to Jay
­Jasanoff by Students, Colleagues, and Friends, ed. A. J. Nussbaum

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the (DEUS)VIA+TERRA which may be the name of the
Südburg complex itself: zi/a+a-ti (DEUS)VIA+TERRA
pa-ti-ʾ 20 ANNUS i(a)-zi/a (“Here I made a Divine
Earth-Road in that year”). So, although the inscrip-
tion could have a votive function, it also describes
the Südburg as a path into the earth, if Hawkins’s
interpretation is correct. As the hittitologist mentions,
the same hieroglyphic sign VIA+TERRA is written in
ligature with SCALPRUM in the Karahöyük inscrip-
tion, which means that this construction was made of
stone. Hawkins also suggested an equivalence between
the hieroglyphic (DEUS)VIA+TERRA and the cuneiform
D
KASKAL.KUR.21
In 1967, E. I. Gordon analyzed the contexts in
which the DKASKAL.KUR was mentioned.22 The tex-
tual occurrences he found made clear several facts:
(1) the KASKAL.KUR is connected twice with a
mountain, a river, and a spring; (2) it is frequently used
as the border line in treaties; (3) there is no occur-
rence of a built KASKAL.KUR—this element seems
to be natural. There are two ways of interpreting the
fact that the KASKAL.KUR is never said to be built,
unlike the VIA+TERRA. In one case, the equation
suggested by Hawkins is correct, and the expression
usually designates a natural feature. Then the expres-
sion would be used in a symbolic sense for designating
[Ann Arbor, 2007], 293–300; I. Yakubovich “The Luvian En-
emy,” Kadmos 47 [2008]: 1–19). In case this translation had to
be rejected, as it would question the nature of the text as a victory
­inscription.
20 
pa-ti-ʾ is to be interpreted as *apati.
21 
Hawkins, The Hieroglyphic Inscription, 44–45, with bibliog-
raphy.
22 
E. I. Gordon, “The Meaning of the Ideogram dKASKAL.
KUR = ‘Underground Water-Course’ and its Significance for
Bronze Age Historical Geography,” Journal of Cuneiform Studies
21 (1967): 70–88. According to M. Korfman, another KASKAL.
KUR was found in 1997 in the Lower City of Troy/Hisarlik. There,
a cave was uncovered in which lay a spring. Korfman, observing
the change of water level in the cave, saw a connection between
this construction and the KASKAL.KUR “underground water” de-
scribed by Gordon (M. Korfman, “1998 yılı Troia kazı sonuçları,”
21. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı I [1999]: 289). However, this cave
seems to have been used from the third millennium b.c.e. until
the Byzantine period (M. Korfman, “2001 yılı Troia/Wilusa kazı
sonuçları,” 24. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı II [2002]: 116). It was
probably used as a water supply within the city. As the use of this
facility during the Hittite period remains unclear, we will dwell on it
here. Note, however, the mention of a “DKASKAL.KUR of Wiluša”
in the Alakšandu Treaty. If Wiluša is the Anatolian name of Troy,
as many scholars believe, this cave may well be the aforementioned
KASKAL.KUR (see I. Yakubovich, “Sociolinguistics of the Luvian
Language” [PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008], 150, with
bibliography).
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Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 59
a cultic building: the Südburg complex would symbol-
ize a natural underground watercourse, if we accept
Gordon’s interpretation. The second possibility is to
reject the equation VIA+TERRA = KASKAL.KUR. In
that case, the apparent differences of context between
the hieroglyphic inscription of Südburg and the cu-
neiform testimonies would be explained. In favor of
the very attractive suggestion of Hawkins, one might
argue that other temples or cultic places were appar-
ently symbolizing natural environments. This is clearly
the case for the hekur temple,23 for example. Note that
J. Börker-Klähn also noticed that the KASKAL.KUR
was never described as a built structure in cuneiform
texts.24 For that reason, she suggests translating the
verb izi(ya)- (of the last sentence in the inscription
of Südburg) as “to celebrate” instead of “to build,”
rightly pointing out that the verb “to build” (AE-
DIFICARE) was used elsewhere in the same text.25
E. Masson, who also translates izi(ya)- as “to celebrate
(a festival),” further specifies that the meaning “to
build” for the verb izi(ya)- is not attested elsewhere in
hieroglyphic Luwian.26 However, there is at least one
example of the use of the Luwian verb izi(ya)- mean-
ing “to make, to construct” in the Kötükale inscrip-
tion.27 It is, therefore, possible that such a meaning is
also present in our passage.
Even if the connection between KASKAL.KUR
and VIA+TERRA should be abandoned, the shape
of the hieroglyphic sign *202 (VIA+TERRA) might
suggest a relation with the netherworld:28 although
it seems to be a combination of two specific signs
(VIA *221 and TERRA *201), it could, at the same
time, be interpreted graphically as a tunnel leading
to a cave in which an underground watercourse lies
(fig. 6). A. Archi recently emphasized the semantic
link between the ideogram KASKAL.KUR, which
23 
See the incantation of KBo 17.62 iv 7′–12′: G. Beckman, Hit-
tite Birth Rituals, Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 29 (Wiesbaden,
1983), 34–35.
24 
J. Börker-Klähn, “DKASKAL.KUR: Bauen oder ‘feiern’?” in
Studi e Testi 1, Eothen 9, ed. S. de Martino and F. Imparati (Flor-
ence, 1998), 14.
25 
Ibid., 16.
26 
Masson, “Le complexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’,” in G. Wilhelm,
ed., Akten, 384, 386.
27 
We would like to thank the reviewers of the Journal of Near
Eastern Studies for giving us this information. The Kötükale inscrip-
tion states: § 3: za-ha-wa/i SCALPRUM-na VIA-na i-zi-˹ha˺ “I
made this paved road” (J. D. Hawkins, Corpus of Hieroglyphic Lu-
wian Inscriptions I: Inscriptions of the Iron Age [Berlin, 2000], 300).
28 
For a parallel with the roman mundus, see Masson, “Le com-
plexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’,” in G. Wilhelm, ed., Akten, 387–88.
60  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Figure 6—The hieroglyphic sign *202 “VIA+TERRA”from Südburg inscription (Hawkins, Hieroglyphic Inscription 1995, Abb.35 part V).
he translates “the road of the netherworld,”29 and
VIA+TERRA. Although this complex has not proven
to be a tomb, contrary to the first interpretation of
the excavators,30 it may well be considered an entrance
into the netherworld that was used during certain ritu-
als and festivals. Archaeologists themselves later on
believed that Room 2 was used for that purpose.31
However, because of the ambiguity in the reading of
the end of the hieroglyphic inscription,32 the votive
function of the Südburg complex cannot be proven.
Besides, the location of the complex close to the
acropolis may illustrate a link between it and the per-
son of the Great King, as J. Börker-Klähn suggested.33
Furthermore, the iconography of Room 2, which may
be interpreted as showing Šuppiluliuma in two differ-
ent ways (as a sun god and as a storm­god?), as well
as the hieroglyphic inscription itself show a strong
connection between the Südburg complex and the
person of the Hittite Great King.
29 
A. Archi, “The Soul Has to Leave the Land of the Living,”
Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religion 7 (2008): 187.
30 
Neve, “Die Ausgrabungen,” 331, and Neve, “Boğazköy-
Hattuşaş 1988,” 232. See also Masson, “Le complexe cultuel du
‘Südburg’,” 122.
31 
Seeher, “Die hethitischen Ostteiche,” 3.
32 
Börker-Klähn, “DKASKAL.KUR,” and Masson, “Le complexe
cultuel du ‘Südburg’,” in G. Wilhelm ed., Akten, 364–91.
33 
Ibid., 17–18.
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I.2. Philological Evidence
I.2.1. Water and the Seven Roads
References to the “Seven Roads” (7 KASKAL MEŠ),
which lead the deities and the spirits into the realm
of the human beings, are common in Hittite cunei-
form texts. These roads can be materialized by the
use of fabric, fine oil, honey, and other goods that
are supposed to help attract the gods.34 These are
said to come from the mountain, the sea, river, valley,
meadow, sky, earth, or, more rarely,35 fire. Therefore,
water, in the shape of a river (hapa- = I7) or a sea
(aruna- = A.AB.BA), is an important element in that
context. The connection between the Seven Roads
and the different locations where a deity might ap-
pear is known from different texts, among which is
the ritual of Ammihatna, Tulbi, and Mati from Kiz-
zuwatna for purifying a temple (§ 8–10):36
nu DINGIR LAM HUR.SAG HÁ-az I 7MEŠ-az
arunaz IŠTU 7 KASKALMEŠ=ya hūittiyazzi nu
memai § DINGIRLUM kuedani kuedani papranni
34 
See The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the Uni-
versity of Chicago, ed. H. G. Güterbock, H. A. Hoffner and T. P. J.
van den Hout (Chicago, 1989- ) (hereafter CHD), vol. P, 73. On
the rituals focused on attracting the gods, see R. Strauss, Reini-
gungsrituale aus Kizzuwatna (Berlin, 2006), 47–56.
35 
On that particular aspect, see A. Mouton, “Quelques us-
ages du feu dans les rituels hittites et mésopotamiens,” Revue de
l’Histoire des Religions 223 (2006): 259–61.
36 
Strauss, Reinigungsrituale, 259.

peran arha piddaitta nu=(š)ši mān nepiši paitta
mān=kan HUR.SAG-i paitta mān=šan aruni
paitta mān=kan 7 KASKALMEŠ paitta § kinun=a
nepišaz ehu HUR.SAG-az I7MEŠ-az ehu arunaz
ehu IŠTU 7 KASKALMEŠ ehu IŠTU 7 PĀDANI
ehu
He attracts the deity from the mountains, from
the rivers, from the sea, along the seven roads,
and he says “Deity, whatever impurity you
escaped from, if, (because of) that, you went to
the sky, if you went to the mountain, if you went
to the sea, if you went to the seven roads, now
come from the sky, come from the mountain
(or) the rivers, come from the sea, come from
the seven roads, come from the seven paths!”
Another clear example for this relationship between
the Seven Roads and the domains of the gods is the
Kizzuwatnian ritual KBo 24.45. The ritual describes
several consecutive sequences during which a deity is
attracted by different locations: (1) the Seven Roads
(§ 15); (2) the “seven haruwa-paths” (§ 16); (3) the
mountain (§ 17); (4) the river (§ 18).37 This pas-
sage shows that the status of the mountain and the
river might be the same as that of the Seven Roads:
they are also considered passageways that the deities
can use to reach the human world. The Kizzuwatna
ritual for installing the Goddess of the Night in a
new temple similarly states (§ 25):38 nu DINGIRLAM
(. . .) HUR.SAG-az I7-az arunaz hāriyaz uēlluwaz
uššaruntaz nepišaz taknaz IŠTU 7 KASKALMEŠ Ù
IŠTU 7 KA.GÌR=ya huittiyanzi (“They attract the
deity . . . from the mountains, from the rivers, from
the sea, from the valleys, from the meadows, from
the springs, from the sky, from the earth, along the
seven roads, and along the seven footpaths”). Finally,
another Kizzuwatnian ritual text should be cited, for it
gives a prominent role to the springs that are “made”
by the ritual practitioners (iii 24–25: peran katta=ma
7 TÚLMEŠ iyanzi). It is performed to attract the cedar
gods along the Seven Roads. After having prepared
the roads with barley puree and honey, the text states
(KUB 15.34 iii 31–40):
nu kuetaniya ANA 1 TÚL 1 NINDA.SIG paršiya
šer=a=(š)šan NINDA.Ì.DÉ.A zikkizzi n=at=šan
TÚLMEŠ-aš irhi zikkizzi 7 NINDA.SIG=ma
37 
Ibid., 317–18.
38 
J. L. Miller, Studies in the Origins, Development and Interpre-
tation of the Kizzuwatna Rituals, Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten
46 (Wiesbaden, 2004), 292.
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Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 61
arha paršāizzi n=at=šan ANA 7 TÚLMEŠ anda
išhu[w]āi nu GEŠTIN šipanti nu tezzi § mān=za
DINGIRMEŠ.LÚMEŠ GIŠERIN-aš ANA TÚLMEŠ
peyanteš kinun=a=šmaš=kan kāša IŠTU 7 TÚLMEŠ
šarā huittiyanniškiueni n=ašta šarā ­uwatten nu
šumeš TÚLMEŠ DINGIRMEŠ-naš kuwapi šumeš
wātar pišteni ar[(ru)]manzi=ya=šmaš kuwapi
pišteni n=ašta DINGIRMEŠ-aš ŠA [(LU)]GAL
­MUNUS.LUGAL TI-tar haddulātar MUHÁ
GÍD.DA DUMU-latar DUMU.NITA MEŠ
DUMU.MUNUSMEŠ hāšuš hanzaššuš uiwakten
He [= the AZU-priest] breaks one flat loaf of
bread for each spring, and he places a bread
made of fat on top of it. He places it on the
far side of the springs. He breaks seven loaves
of bread into pieces and he scatters them into
the seven springs. He libates wine and says: “If
(you), male cedar-gods, have been sent to the
springs, we are now attracting you up from the
seven springs. Come up here! And you, springs
of the gods, when you give (your) water and
when you give (it) for (people) to wash, demand
to the gods for the king and queen life, health,
long years, offspring, i.e., sons, daughters and
descendants!”39
Other similar examples could be given, but those men-
tioned here should suffice to show the status of water
as a passageway, particularly in the Kizzuwatnian cult.
An interesting element to consider is a passage of
the so-called “Voyage of the Human Immortal Soul,”
in which the human soul may take paths similar to
those mentioned above (KUB 43.60 i 4–17):40
[. . . d]andukiš ZI-anza [kuwapī]t=še=pa uitta
HUR.SAG-i=kuw=at=šan [NI]M.LÀL-at udau
š=an pēdi=(š)ši dāu [takš]anni=kuw=at!=ša<n>
NIM.LÀL-at udau! [n=]at pēdi=(š)ši dāu kuit=a
[ter]ippiaz=ma n=at NIM.LÀLMEŠ udandu [n=]
at pedi=(š)ši tiandu NIM.LÀL teriyaš U4-aš
mīuwa<š> U4-aš KASKAL-an pāndu n=apa
iyatar=mit udandu takku arunaz=ma n=at
lahanza udau n=at=šan pēdi=(š)ši dāu takku
­I7-az=ma n=at huwalaš udau n=at=šan pēdi=(š)
ši dāu § kuit=a nepišaz=ma n=at tapakaliya<š>
haraš MUŠEN kaddud udau
39 
V. Haas and G. Wilhelm, Hurritische und luwische Riten
aus Kizzuwatna, Alter Orient und Altes Testament Sonderreihe 3
(Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1974), 196–99.
40 
Archi, “The Soul,” 172–73.
62  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies
[. . .] the mortal soul. [Wher]e did it come for
it? (If) it is on the mountain, let the bee bring it
and put it in its place. (If) it is on the plain, let
the bee bring it and put it in its place. What is
from the ploughed field, let the bees bring it and
put it in its place. Let the bee(s) go a journey of
three days, of four days, and let them bring my
plenty. If it is from the sea, let the (migratory)
lahanza-duck bring it and put it in its place. But
if it is from the river, let the swan bring it and put
it in its place. But whatever is from the sky, let
the hare-grabbing eagle bring it with his talons.41
By this enumeration of locations that echoes the ones
seen previously, one may suggest that the dead human
soul—and also, supposedly, the soul of the newborn
child42—is supposed to follow the same paths used by
the gods themselves to leave the realm of the living.
I.2.2. Water and the Great Road
The expression “the Great Road” appears only once,
as far as we know: it is mentioned in the “Voyage of
the Human Immortal Soul.” Beside this occurrence,
the votive text KUB 15.5+ i 10–15 mentions a dead
person “placed on the road.” In a previous study, A.
Mouton compared that road with the Great Road.43
It also has echoes in the Appu Myth, in which deities
of the father are said to “have taken the good/bad
road.” According to Mouton, this “taking a road”
could describe the voyage of the newborn’s soul from
the netherworld to the human realm.44 That is an
­assumption that would nicely fit the context, but other
interpretations are also possible. As far as the “Voyage
of the ­Human Immortal Soul” text, KUB 43.60, a
whole passage refers to water passageways related to
the Great Road (i 26–34):
41 
“Souvent, ces deux mondes [= the realm of the living and
the ‘other world’ inhabited by suprahuman entities] apparaissent
séparés par une masse d’eau. [. . .]. Dans ce cas, l’eau constitue
l’espace de médiation par où communiquent deux mondes bien
séparés” (M. Mesnil, “Présentation,” in Le monde d’où viennent les
enfants, Civilisations 37: 2 [1987]: 15).
42 
H. A. Hoffner, Hittite Myths, Writings from the Ancient
World Series 2, 2nd ed. (Atlanta, 1998), 32–33; Archi, “The Soul.”
43 
A. Mouton, Les rituels de naissance kizzuwatniens: Un exemple
de rites de passage en Anatolie hittite (Paris, 2008), 70–71.
44 
In anthropology, it is frequently observed that traditional so-
cieties consider the soul of the newborn child as coming from the
“other world,” taking the same road as the dead spirit departing
from the realm of the living; see Mouton, Les rituels de naissance kiz-
zuwatniens, 72, with bibliography. See also Mesnil, “Présentation,”
and K. Garroway, “Gendered or Ungendered?,” this issue of JNES.
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ZI-anza=wa=kan uriš 45 ZI-anza=wa=kan uriš
kuel=wa=kan ZI-anza uriš dandukeš=wa=kan
ZI-anza uriš nu kuin KASKAL-an harzi uran
KASKAL-an harzi marnuwalan KASKAL-an
harzi š=an=za=pa KASKAL-ši LÚKASKAL-
laš handāi šuppi DUTU-aš ZI-anza annan46
ZI-anza dandukišnaš kuwat arušan paimi
dāšana?47=šan paimi I 7=p[a m]ūhhi luli[ya]
muhhi tenawa=šan paim[i l]ē pai[mi] tēnawaš
idāluš . . . [. . .] uelluwa li-[. . .] šiuniya[h-. . .?]
The soul is great. The soul is great. Whose soul
is great? The mortal’s soul is great. What road
does it take? It takes the Great Road, it takes the
marnuwala- Road. The Guide prepares it48 for
the travel. A holy thing (is) the soul of the Sun
Goddess, the soul of the Mothers. Why should I
go the perdition49 of the mortal? I would rather
go into the . . . I would rather fall into the river.
I would rather fall into the pond. I would rather
go into the tenawa-.50 [. . .] The tenawa- is evil
[. . . le]t n[ot . . . go] to the meadow [. . .] to
the god [. . .].
This translation, mainly based on H. A. Hoffner’s
interpretations,51 has been recently challenged by
A. Archi, who proposes to translate the passage the
following way:
“The soul is great! The soul is great! Whose soul
is great? The mortal’s soul is great! What road
does it have? It has the great road. It has the road
that makes things disappear.” The man of the
45 
In Mouton, Les rituels de naissance kizzuwatniens, 70 n. 135,
the author made a mistake in her transcription and read uriuš in-
stead of uriš. This is due to the first sequence u-ri-uš appearing
in KUB 43.60 i 26, which must be corrected as u-ri-iš !(UŠ). She
repeated this misreading throughout the whole passage.
46 
An alternative reading is suggested by C. Watkins, How to Kill
a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics (Oxford, 1995), 285,
who writes DINGIR-nan (annan?). This first reading DINGIR-
nan is the one Archi preferred in his later translation of the text.
47 
Reading uncertain. See H. Hoffner, “A Scene in the Realm of
the Dead,” in A Scientific Humanist: Studies in Memory of Abraham
Sachs, Occasional Publications of the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund 9,
ed. E. Leichty, M. de J. Ellis, and P. Gerardi (Philadelphia, 1988),
193, for another possibility.
48 
That is, the mortal’s soul.
49 
For arruša-, see HW2 A, 355; E. Neu, review of Hethitisch-
deutsches Wörterverzeichnis by J. Tischler, Indogermanische For­
schungen 89 (1984): 304; and Archi, “The Soul,” 187.
50 
For this term, see Hoffner, “A Scene in the Realm of the
Dead,” 193–94.
51 
Hoffner, Hittite Myths, 33.

road (i.e. the psychopompos?) has got it ready
for the road. A holy thing of the Sun-goddess
(of the Earth) is the soul. To the gods belongs
the soul. “Why should I go the perdition of the
mortal? Should I go the dāšanata? I will fall
into the river. I will fall into the pool. Should I
go the tenawa-? Let me not go! The tenawa- is
evil . . . [. . .] to the meadow let [me] trav[el
quickly . . . Let me not (?) be] struck down by
a god [. . .]” 52
The passage shows that the Great Road by which
the human soul enters the netherworld53 could take
on several aspects, among which water passage-
ways are mentioned. The human soul can fall into a
river or a pond to reach the realm of the dead spir-
its. Note the reference to the Sun Goddess, who is
the mistress of the netherworld. It reminds one of
the “road of the Sun goddess of the earth,” which is
mentioned in Telepinu’s Myth (KUB 17.10 iv 8–13):
paiddu DTelipinuwaš karpiš kardimiyaz wašdul šāuar
. . . miyantili A.ŠÀ-ni GIŠKIRI6-ni GIŠTIR-ni lē paizzi
taknaš=at DUTU-aš KASKAL-an paiddu (“May Te-
lipinu’s anger, wrath, sin, and sullenness depart. . . .
May it not go into the fruitful field, garden, or for-
est. May it go the road of the Sun-goddess of the
earth”).54 The fact that one wished Telipinu’s “impuri-
ties” (papratār) to leave and reach the domain of the
Sun-goddess of the earth, that is, the netherworld,
makes sense, as impurities were probably thought to
originate from there. Furthermore, C. Watkins sees
an analogy between the Great Road mentioned in
the myth of the voyage of the human soul and the
“holy way” of the Greek Orphic cult, also because of
the use of the adjective marnuwala- (invisible/makes
things invisible).55 Yet this analogy cannot be proven,
52 
Archi, “The Soul,” 173–74.
53 
According to A. M. Polvani (“Some Thoughts about KUB
43.60 [the so-called Text of ‘the Voyage of the Immortal Human
Soul’],” in Acts of the Vth International Congress of Hittitology,
ed. A. Süel [Ankara, 2005], 613–22), the “Voyage of the Soul”
text could rather describe the itinerary of the soul of a newborn
child. As Mouton has mentioned here and as Archi (“The Soul
Has to Leave the Land of the Living,” 190) wrote, the similarity
between birth and death and the ambiguity of this text can be un-
derstood in the following way: the Hittites might have considered
their death a rebirth.
54 
E. Laroche, “Textes mythologiques hittites en transcription
I: Mythologie anatolienne,” Revue Hittite et Asianique 23, no. 77
(1965): 37 and Hoffner, Hittite Myths, 17.
55 
Watkins, How to Kill a Dragon, 288.
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Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 63
because not enough is known about the Hittite initia-
tion rites.56
II. Water Places Connected with
Cultic/Ritual Activities
II.1. Archaeological Evidence: The Religious
Uses of the Hittite Water Places 57
II.1.1. The Ponds of Hattuša
Inside Pond 1 of the Ostteiche ensemble, several
potsherds of miniature votive vessels were uncov-
ered. This type of ceramic is well known from the
temple area of the Upper City, as well as from Büyük-
kale.58 Concerning the so-called Südteiche,59 that is,
Pond 1, it provided a large quantity of ceramic mate-
rial, especially votive/ritual vessels. J. Seeher suggested
that those vessels were crushed somewhere else and
then thrown into the pond. Among the ensemble of
ceramics,60 one may notice around forty arm-shaped
libation vessels and thirty spindle-bottle sherds dating
from the Early Imperial Period (15th to 14th centuries
b.c.e.).61 Also found was a relief-decorated potsherd,
probably from the Old Hittite period, on which two
horned-cap sphinxes are represented.62 This ceramic
material does not come from the bottom of the pond
but rather from the filling soil. From this observation
56 
On the rite of passage of the dead, see Archi, “The Soul.”
57 
In a preliminary report by Süel (“Ortaköy-Şapinuva ‘D’
Yapısı. Hitit Dini Mimarisinde Değişik bir Yorum,” in Acts of the
Vth International Congress of Hittitology, ed. A. Süel [Ankara,
2005], 687–700), mention is made of a small pool inside the temple
called “building D” in Ortaköy/Šapinuwa. The whole pool and the
channel providing it with water were both covered with stones and
plaster on their bottom and sides. One might also notice the men-
tion by the archaeologist of a red sandstone platform at the main
entrance of the building D, where a relief representing a Storm god
stands (p. 688). This structure reminds one of the red pavement
found in front of the grotto of the Lower City of Boğazköy. The D
building offered rich archaeological material, among which bronze
armor and a bronze helmet were the most noticeable objects (p.
690). These objects could be offerings to the divine inhabitant of
this temple, namely, and most probably, for the Stormgod.
58 
Neve, “Kammer 2,” 9.
59 
J. Seeher, “Boğazköy-Hattuşa 2000 yılı çalışmaları,” 23. Kazı
Sonuçları Toplantısı II (2001): 189–96; J. Seeher, “Die Ausgrabun-
gen in Boğazköy-Hattuša 2000,” Archäologische Anzeiger (2001):
333–62.
60 
Seeher, “Boğazköy-Hattuşa 2000,” 191 and 196, fig. 12.
61 
Ibid., “Boğazköy-Hattuşa 2001,” 24. Kazı Sonuçları
Toplantısı II (2002): 106 and 109, fig. 5.
62 
Ibid., “Boğazköy-Hattuşa 2000,” 196, fig. 13. For the earlier
dating of this potsherd compare with the other ceramic material of
the pond, see ibid., 191.
64  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Figure 7—General plan of the Yalburt Complex (Temizer, “Introduction,” 172 fig. 60).
we may conclude that the creation of the pond pre-
dates the deposit of this ceramic material.
At building C of Büyükkale,63 more than 100 sherds
of cultic vessels were found, as well as other cultic
objects: bowls, plates, vases with or without stands,
pitchers, miniature bowls, spouted pitchers, and sea
shells.64 In addition to this, one should also remem-
ber the find of the limestone stele of Tudhaliya IV
in the same room,65 which provides a dating of the
building.66 The stele does not seem to give any ad-
ditional religious meaning to the building, for it only
seems to give Tudhaliya IV’s genealogy. Indeed, its
content seems very similar to another stele of Tud-
haliya IV that was found in the temple quarter of the
Upper City.67 Under building C lies an older building
(in the IVb layer, which might date to the early Impe-
rial period, XIVth c. b.c.e.),68 in which the excavators
63 
P. Neve, “Boğazköy-Hattuša. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen
in der Oberstadt,” Anatolica 14 (1987): 41–88.
64 
P. Neve, Regenkult-Anlagen in Boğazköy-Hattuša, Istanbuler
Mitteilungen Beiheft 5 (Tübingen, 1971), 10.
65 
Ibid., 11, fig. 1; and H. G. Güterbock, “Die Texte aus der
Grabung 1934 in Boğaköy,” Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-
Gesellschaft 73 (1935), 36–37: fig. 21.
66 
Neve, Regenkult-Anlagen in Boğazköy-Hattuša, 12.
67 
Neve, “Boğazköy-Hattuša. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen,”
86, fig. 13.
68 
Ibid., 43.
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found a stone-built channel (going toward the north-
ern corner of the building) and a duck-shaped vessel,
very similar to an askos vase.69 These two finds seem
to indicate that this building already had a connection
with water or a place that used water as part of the
cult and was already being used for religious purposes
before the Imperial Period. P. Neve suggested that the
pond-building C of Büyükkale should be associated
with a rain cult (Regenkult).70 To this end, H. Otten
investigated the textual evidence71 and made a connec-
tion between the cultic practice of pouring a libation
through a window and the structure of the pond. Yet
the text he uses gives no convincing clues in favor of
the existence of a rain cult.
Between Buildings K and A at Büyükkale72 the bot-
tom of yet another pond was also covered with small
ceramic votive vessels.73 The pond could be accessed
by three steps uncovered on the side. Unlike the other
ponds of Hattuša, this one seems to have received
69 
K. Bittel, Hattusha: The Capital of the Hittites (New York,
1970), 71.
70 
Neve, Regenkult-Anlagen in Boğazköy-Hattuša.
71 
Otten apud Neve, Regenkult-Anlagen in Boğazköy-Hattuša,
43–44.
72 
Ibid., 46–48.
73 
Seeher, Hattusha-Guide, 109.
 Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 65

Figure 8—Recreation of the Yalburt Complex (Temizer, “Introduction,” 172 fig. 61).

water only from the rain, for no channel could be
found emanating from it.
II.1.2. The Basin of Yalburt (figs. 7 and 8)
A rectangular Hittite basin was discovered at Yalburt74
in the Konya province. The basin is constructed of
limestone, its long walls oriented east-west. It is prob-
able that the whole bottom of the basin was covered
with stones, as they are still visible in the southeast-
ern corner of the structure. A hieroglyphic inscrip-
tion dating from Tudhaliya IV runs along the inner
side of the basin, which would have been visible in
antiquity as it is situated above the surface of the
­water.75 The inscription is composed of 22 blocks that
were rearranged by archaeologists, as they had been
found scattered about. The inscription relates to Tud-
haliya IV’s military campaigns, similar to the Südburg
inscription that probably narrated the campaigns of
74 
R. Temizer, “Introduction,” in Inandıktepe, ed. T. Özgüç
(Ankara, 1988,) xxv–xxvii.
Šuppiluliuma II. Yet again, the votive character of the
hieroglyphic inscription is unclear. K. Emre believes
that the main function of the Yalburt basin was to
collect water from the nearest springs.76 However, we
offer a major counterargument that no Hittite settle-
ment seems to be close to the basin, so we think rather
that this area was a sacred place. The closest traces of
second millennium b.c.e. settlements yet to be found
are at Çobankaya (Şuhut Höyük), 8 kms from Yalburt.
II.1.3. The Artificial Lake of
Kuşaklı (figs. 9 and 10)
In the Sivas province, an artificial lake was found
close to the Hittite settlement site of Kuşaklı. Kuşaklı,
­ancient Šarišša, is known from the texts as a place
where a stormgod was venerated. The artificial lake
that was found in 1996 is 2.5 kms away from Kuşaklı
and situated on a hill.77 Its circular shape is unnatu-
rally regular and is supplied by one or several nearby
Emre, “Hittite Dam of Karakuyu,” 13.
76 

75 
M. Poetto, L’iscrizione luvio-geroglifica di Yalburt: Nuove A. Müller-Karpe, “Untersuchungen in Kuşaklı 1996,” Mit-
77 

acquizioni relative alla geografia dell’Anatolia sud-occidentale,

­ teilungen der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft 129 (1997): 118–20 and
Studia Mediterranea 8 (Pavia, 1993) and Hawkins, Hieroglyphic A. Müller-Karpe, “Untersuchungen in Kuşaklı 1997,” Mitteilungen
Inscription, 66–85. See also K. Emre, “The Hittite Dam of Kara- der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft 130 (1998): 108–10 and 152–53.
kuyu,” in Essays on Anatolian Archaeology, ed. T. Mikasa (Wies- See also T. Ökse, “Grabungen am Quellteich Suppitassu,” Mit-
baden, 1993), 12. teilungen der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft 131 (1999): 86–91.

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66  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Figure 9—General plan of Kuşalı/Šarišša and the artificial lake (A. Müller-Karpe, “Kuşaklı-Sarissa. Kultort im Oberen Land,” in Die
Hethiter und ihr Reich: Das Volk der 1000 Götter, J. Wenzel [Bonn, 2002], 176 Abb. 1).

springs. On the western side of the lake, traces of a
stone floor were uncovered, and on its northern side,
traces of a channel directly dug into the ground were
found. Stone blocks remained along 1.9 meters of the
channel, showing that the channel was built partly of
stone. On the southeastern bank of the lake, remains of
a stone embankment very similar to those at the Kara-
kuyu dam and at the Südburg Sacred Pool were also
documented.78 Some Hittite potsherds were found in
connection with the channel, assuring its dating. Ac-
cording to magnetic surveys, the stone embankment
78 
Ökse, “Grabungen am Quellteich Suppitassu,” 86–87.
shows that the lake was 135 m wide.79 At the eastern
side of the lake, a tripartite rectangular building was
found. At the northern side of the lake, the founda-
tions of another stone building are reminiscent of Hit-
tite Imperial constructions at Boğazköy. Furthermore,
probes from a depth of 2.40 m were made in the lake,
and peat was extracted that can be dated by Carbon
14 to between 2200 and 1600 b.c.e.80 The peat shows
that the lake dried up around that period, maybe be-
79 
A. Hüser, Hethitische Anlagen zur Wasserversogung und Ent-
sorgung, Kuşaklı-Sarissa 3 (Rahden, 2007), 120.
80 
Ibid., 121.

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 Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 67

Figure 10—Plan of the artificial lake’s surroundings (A. Müller-Karpe, “Untersuchungen in Kuşakli 1999,” MDOG 132 (2000) 1999,
81 Abb. 20).

cause of an earthquake. Therefore, the lake must have
been rearranged as a partly-built cultic place after that
date. Altogether, the evidence shows that this artificial
lake, as well as the facilities related to it, was used dur-
ing the Hittite period. According to the Boğazköy
and Kuşaklı cuneiform texts, an area close to Šarišša
comprising a huwaši-stone and a water place called
TÚL
Šuppitaššu could be reached by “going up” (šarā
pāi-) to a hill.81 Therefore, A. Müller-Karpe suggests
that the complex of the artificial lake and the build-
G. Wilhelm, Keilschrifttexte aus Gebäude A, Kuşaklı-Sarissa
81 
I/1 (Rhaden, 1997), 9–15.
ing related to it could correspond to the Šuppitaššu
water place.82
II.1.4. The Sacred Pool of Eflatun
Pınar (figs. 11 and 12):
The sacred pool of Eflatun Pınar is situated in the
Konya province, 25 km from the modern city of
Beyşehir. It is fed by a spring beneath the pool itself.
82 
A. Müller-Karpe, “Kuşaklı-Sarissa,” 188. TÚL is usually
thought to designate a spring but it seems that it can also designate
any other kind of water place: a fountain, a pool, or a pond. Indeed,
this logogram seems to have several possible readings in the Hittite
texts (CHD Š, 78).

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68  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Figure 11—Plan of the Eflatun Pınar Complex (Özenir, “Eflatunpınar,” 66 lev. XXVII).

It is only through the most recent archaeological
investigations carried out in 1996 that the Hittite
pool was entirely uncovered,83 as its remains were
previously under the water of a modern fishing lake.
Most previous studies focused on the iconography
of the monument,84 for it depicts the whole Hittite
pantheon (fig. 13). The main scene, at the center of
83 
On the last discoveries in Eflatun Pınar, see S. Özenir,
“Eflatun Pınar Hitit Anıtı 1996 yılı temizlik ve kazı çalışmaları,”
VIII. Müze Kurtarma Kazıları Semineri (1997): 139; S. Özenir,
“Eflatunpınar Hitit Kutsal Anıt-Havuz 1998 yılı çalışmaları,” in
Akten des IV. ­Internationalen Kongresses für Hethitologie, Studien
zu den Boğazköy-Texten 45, ed. G. Wilhelm (Wiesbaden, 2001),
37–38; and M. Bachmann and S. Özenir, “Das Quellheiligtum Efla-
tun Pınar,” Archäologischer Anzeiger (2004): 85–122.
84 
A. Erkanal, “Eflatun Pınar anıtı,” in Bedrettin Cömert’e
Armağan, ed. G. Renda (Ankara, 1980), 287–301; and K. Kohl-
the monument, represents a divine couple. The male
figure is seated on a throne on the left side and his
female counterpart is seated on the right. The male
figure probably represents a stormgod although no
clear attributes are visible on the relief. Similarly, the
seated goddess who wears a typical Hittite polos most
probably depicts the Sun goddess of the earth, who
is the most commonly known female partner of the
­Stormgod in the Hittite Imperial official pantheon.
The divine couple is accompanied by two mythologi-
cal atlantes: bull-men on the lower row and lion-men
above them. The lion-men are themselves carrying
sun-disks, reinforcing the Sun Goddess above. Finally,
meyer, “Felsbilder des hethitischen Grossreichszeit,” Acta Prehis-
torica et Archaeologica 15 (1983): 7–153 (with bibliography).

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 Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 69

Figure 12—General view of the Eflatun Pınar Complex (Bachmann/Özenir, “Das Quellheiligtum,” 94 Abb. 13).

Figure 13—View of the main monument of the Eflatun Pınar Complex (K. Emre, “Felsrelief, Stelen, Orthostaten, in Die Hethiter
und ihr Reich,” ed. T. Özgüç (Stuttgart 2002], 222 Abb. 4).

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70  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

on the lowest row, which was found in 1996, five II.2. Philological Evidence
mountain gods are standing. The three mountain gods
During a festival taking place in the Hattian city of
of the middle contain several holes.85 It is believed
Zippalanda, an animal sacrifice occurs above a basin
that the water flowed through these holes into the
(KBo 2.12 ii 33–39):88 lūliyaš šēr kuiuš [(GU4HÁ-uš)]
pool in the manner of a fountain. On each side of
hukanzi LÚ.MEŠ hāpeš LÚ.MEŠ UR.BAR.RA (. . .) 1ÀM
the main scene, two separate reliefs were found on UZU
ÚR GU4 ANA LÙhami[(ni)] pianzi (“The oxen
the northern wall of the pool, which represent female
which they slaughter above the basin, the hapi- and
goddesses each wearing a polos. On the southern wall
the wolf-men . . . give one body part of an ox to the
of the pool, a relief of a seated female goddess is ac-
hamina-”). In the festival of the city of Zippalanda
companied by a block at her feet, supposedly used as
for Mount Daha, a passage (KBo 16.49 i 5–11) reads:
an altar. It is probable that a second relief depicting D
Taha=šta KÁ.GAL-az pān[zi] DIŠTAR-aš lūliaš
a stormgod was also standing beside her. In front of
KÁ.GAL-az uwa[nzi] GEŠTIN-aš išpanduzzi=ya
the altar, a fragmentary statue was uncovered, rep-
lūl[iya] tianzi UDU HÁ-uš LÚ.MEŠ MUHALDIM
resenting a human torso. On the eastern wall of the
appanz[i] t=uš edi lūliaš arhi LUGAL-i [menahhanda]
pool, there are two figures in relief that are probably
iškaranzi § LUGAL-uš uizzi lūliaš šer AŠAR=Š[U
to be identified with the same divine couple (i.e., the
ēpzi], (“They leave by the Gate of Daha, they come
Stormgod and the Sun Goddess of the earth). They
(back?) by the Gate of Ištar’s basin and they put the
are represented as if walking toward the north. In the
libation vessels of wine [by] the basin. The cooks seize
southwestern corner of the pool, there is a gap in the
the sheep and line them up on the far side of the basin
wall that might once have been filled with a trachyte
[before] the king. § The king comes and [takes] his
block that was found nearby. This block has two holes
place above the basin”).89
that finish under the shape of bull protomes. Inside
In the ritual of Allī of Arzawa against bewitchment,90
the pool, twelve fragmented bull figurines and two
the mother-goddess of the river bank is involved
lion figurines were found, their heads systematically
(§§ 40–41), as in the Tunnawi’s ritual (see below).
removed. The lion figurines were found in another
One may suggest that this deity takes part in the pu-
part of the pool, not together with the bull figurines.
rification of the patient, although the text does not
Votive miniature ceramic vessels very similar to those
clearly state this. Both a food offering and a libation
found in Boğazköy ponds were also uncovered inside
are performed in honor of the mother-goddess of the
of the pool together with one bronze pin.
river bank as well as of the “weluila- of the river.” Note
The religious function of this site is obvious thanks
that the text mentions that bread is scattered into
to the iconography and archaeological material. The
the river on that occasion (l. 285–286: [n=aš=ka]n
whole complex constitutes a sacred pool probably
I7-aš kurkišni 1 NINDA.SIG wappūwaš DINGIR.
used during religious rituals and festivals. Besides, this
MAH-an[n]i paršiya [nu=ka]n I7-i 2 NINDA.SIGMEŠ
monument seems directly related to the Hittite Great
I7-aš uēluilaš paršiya) and that, later on, something is
King. First, the sun-disk is represented three times on
poured into it (l. 299: . . . [I]7-i anda lāhuwai).
the top part of the monument. Second, the deities fig-
Finally, we should consider Tunnawi’s ritual.91 It is
uring on the monument seem to be the tutelary gods
actually called “the ritual of the river” (KUB 7.53+ i
of the Hittite king himself: the heads of the Hittite
9: ŠA I7=at=za SÍSKUR halziššanzi). In this respect,
official pantheon during a particular reign are usually
it is significant testimony for our purpose. This ritual
the personal tutelary deities of the king. Therefore,
is a purifying ritual in which the Mother-goddess of
we suggest that this sacred pool was an important
the river bank (wappuwaš DINGIR.MAH) is asked
station for the pilgrimage of the Great King during
to “scrub” (šapiyai-) impurity off patients. A spring
cultic festivals.86 Note that a settlement dating from
is also required to cleanse a patient’s impurity (KUB
the second millennium b.c.e. was uncovered nearby.87
7.53+ i 33–38):
85 
Özenir, “Eflatunpınar Hitit Kutsal Anıt-Havuz 1998 yılı 88 
M. Popko, Zippalanda. Ein Kultzentrum im hethitischen
çalışmaları,” 539. ­Kleinasien, Texte der Hethiter 21 (Heidelberg, 1994), 102–103.
86 
Y. Erbil, “Eflatunpınar Kutsal Anıtı ve Hitit Su Kültü Üzerine 89 
Ibid., 146–47.
Bazı Yorumlar,” in Eskiçağ’ın Mekanları Zamanları İnsanları, ed. 90 
See the new edition of this composition by A. Mouton in
Lale Özgenel (Istanbul, 2005), 153–54. the Konkordanz website (to appear soon online). The paragraph
87 
Özenir, “Eflatunpınar Hitit Kutsal Anıt-Havuz 1998 yılı numbers that are used in this article are those of that new edition.
çalışmaları,” 540. 91 
CHD P, 72 and Goetze 1938, 54.

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namma=aš šakuniya paizzi nu 1 NINDA.SIG
paršiya n=at šakuniyaš purut dāi NIN[DA.Ì.E.D]
É.A memal šuhhai GEŠTIN šipanti nu memai
zik=kan mahhan šaku<n>iš GE6-az KI-az purut
EGIR šarā šakunieškiši nu edani antuhši ANA
EN SISKUR IŠTU UZUÚRHÁ=ŠU idalu papratar
arha QATAMMA mutāi
Then she [= The Old Woman] goes to a spring.
She breaks one flat loaf of bread. She takes clay
of the spring. She scatters bread made of fat
and memal, she libates wine. She says: “Just as
you, spring, keep gushing clay back up from the
Dark Earth, in the same manner remove the evil
impurity from the body parts of this person, the
patient!”
Although we should not go too far in interpreting
this passage, it clearly connects springs with the Dark
Earth, that is, the netherworld. The ritual mentions
both the river and the spring as purifying places but
not necessarily as vehicles leading to the netherworld.
Indeed, the part of the ritual involving the Mother-
goddess of the river rather mentions a cleansing tech-
nique by the clay of the river bank. And as the clay of
the spring is also mentioned in the text, it is probably
the same representation from the spring. So there is
no evidence here for using the river or the spring as
passageways to the netherworld in spite of a close
connection between the spring and the Dark Earth.
In some texts, water might also be used for re-
moving impurities away from a person. The exorcistic
ritual CTH 447 presents the following passage:
[nu=za ada]nzi akuwanzi haštai=ma [arh]a
warnuwanzi n=at šarā [d]āi n=at paizzi I7-i
EGIR-an tarnai nu kiššan memai kī mahhan
urīnan n=at I7-aš pēdai HUL-un=(n)a EME-an
šarā dāi n=aš QĀTAMMA hāš kišaru n=at I7-aš
parā pēdāi
They [e]at and drink. They burn the bones and
he/she [= the ritual practitioner] takes them
up. He/she goes (and) lets them into the river.
He/she speaks thus: “As this is burnt and the
river carries it (away)—he/she takes up the evil
tongue—may it become ash so that the river will
carry it away!”92
M. Popko, Das hethitische Ritual CTH 447 (Warsaw, 2003),
92 
24 and 35.
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Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 71
By the same logic, the babilili ritual (KUB 39.71 iv
21)93 uses a model of a boat for transporting the evil
away from the patient. An analogous pattern is known
in Neo-Assyrian namburbi rituals, in which the river is
used to carry the evil away from the patient.94
III. Unclear Connections between a Cultic
Area and Water in the Archaeological Record
Returning to Hattuša, leading from Temple I into the
Lower City, on the southwestern side of the temple,
there is a grotto with stairs that lead to a spring 95
(figs. 14–16). The lintel of the grotto was decorated
with a relief representing a human character.96 The
character has a round cap and earrings, and his hands
are raised in front of his head in a praying gesture.
This figure is probably the Great King. In front of
him, remains of another character were still visible
which could be interpreted as a god in front of whom
the Great King is making the adoration gesture. On
the steps of the grotto, a limestone stele inscribed
in hieroglyphic writing and dating from the Hittite
Imperial period was uncovered.97 According to H.
G. Güterbock, this inscription mentions a spring-
goddess.98 If his interpretation is correct, this would
constitute a clear link with a water cult that would
have been performed in the grotto. However, his in-
terpretation has been challenged by Hawkins, who
suggests that the deity mentioned on the stele is the
Sword-god (DEUS.ENSIS).99 Interestingly enough,
93 
J. Friedrich, A. Kammenhuber, and I. Hoffman, eds., Hethi-
tisches Wörterbuch. 2., völlig neubearbeitete Auflage auf der Grund-
lage der edierten hethitischen Texte, Indogermanische Bibliothek 2
(Heidelberg, 1975), 353.
94 
S. Maul, Zukunftsbewältigung: Eine Untersuchung altorien-
talischen Denkens anhand der babylonisch-assyrischen Löserituale
(Namburbi), Baghdader Forschungen 18 (Mainz am Rhein, 1994),
86–87, 286, and 493.
95 
Seeher, Hattusha-Guide, 25. Concerning the two human fig-
ures on the lintel, see P. Neve, “Eine hethitische Quellgrotte in
Boğazköy,” Istanbuler Mitteilungen 19–20 (1969–1970): 101–102.
96 
K. Bittel and P. Neve, “Vorläufiger Bericht über die Aus-
grabungen in Boğazköy im Jahre 1969,” Mitteilungen der Deutschen
Orientgesellschaft 102 (1970): 19: fig. 13. This figure is very similar
to the one represented on Taşçı II, also dated from the Imperial
period: see H. G. Güterbock, “Zwei hethitische Zeichnungen,” in
Mansel’e Armağan (Ankara, 1974), 424.
97 
Stele called “Boğazköy 12”: H. G. Güterbock, “Hiero-
glyphische Inschriften,” in Boğazköy IV: Funde aus den Grabungen
1967 und 1968, ed. K. Bittel et al. (Berlin, 1969), 51, fig. 13.
98 
Ibid., 50–51.
99 
Hawkins, “The Land of Išuwa: the Hieroglyphic Evidence,”
in Acts of the IIIrd International Congress of Hittitology, ed. S. Alp
and A. Süel (Ankara, 1998), 288.
72  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Figure 14—Based on the plan of the grotto connected to the Temple I of Boğazköy/Hattuša (Seeher, Hattuša Guide, 9 fig. 9).

Hawkins writes: “The dedication of the Quellgrotte
with its underground water-source to this chthonic
deity would seem appropriate.” However, the grotto
seems to have been used in multiple periods, so the
figurative reliefs as well as the hieroglyphic inscrip-
tion could have been added later in this period. Just
in front of the entrance of the grotto some red sand-
stones were uncovered that seem to be part of ear-
lier pavement.100 Recall that a similar red pavement is
found at the entrance gate of Büyükkale.
Conclusion
Considering the archaeological and the textual evi-
dence has helped us to investigate the possible func-
tions of the Hittite water installations. Concerning the
Südburg complex, one of the most striking elements is
its monumental dimensions, which contrast strongly to
the narrowness of Room 2. The small dimensions of
Room 2, which clearly is the main element of the whole
complex, are probably meaningful, as E. Masson had
100 
Neve, “Eine hethitische Quellgrotte in Boğazköy,” 105.
already suggested.101 This configuration could be part
of the ritual or liturgical drama that took place here.
While examining the cuneiform data, we observed the
special connection between the ­Kizzuwatnian cult and
the use of water as a passageway into the “other world.”
The predominance of the ­Kizzuwatnian data is strik-
ing but not necessarily meaningful: it is the best-docu-
mented Hittite region for religious matters in general.
But one may also wonder whether this special status
of water in the Kizzuwatnian cult could have some-
thing to do with the numerous ­basins and other cultic
water installations dating from the Imperial period.
We know for sure that the influence of Kizzuwatnian
religion increased during the Imperial period. The
official pantheon of Tudhaliya IV at Yazılıkaya is the
best-known illustration of this phenomenon. However,
festival texts related to the Hattian sphere also give
an important role to pools or basins. Furthermore,
we know that the pond-building C of Büyükkale in
Hattuša was already in use before the Imperial period.
Therefore, we should not assign too much significance
to the evidence.
101 
Masson, “Le complexe cultuel du ‘Südburg’,” in Wilhelm ed.,
Akten, 376–77.

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 Water in Ancient Anatolian Religions  F 73

Figure 15—Restitution of the grotto of Boğazköy (Neve, “Eine hethitische Quellgrotte,” 105 Abb. 8). Source: German Archaeological
Institute, Boğazköy Project.

Figure 16—View of the entrance of the grotto of Boğazköy (Seeher, Hattuša Guide, 24 fig. 24).

While considering the archaeological evidence, it
appeared to us that the water installations could be
categorized into three types:
1) The water passageways: the grotto of the Lower
City of Hattuša and the Südburg complex (in this
category the so-called Sacred Pool, or Pond 1 of the
Ostteiche ensemble, should be considered a special
case, as it was first used for water supply and then only
in a second phase rearranged as a cultic area);
2) The sacred pools or lakes: the Yalburt and Eflatun
Pınar basins and the Kuşaklı artificial lake.
3) The water reservoirs: all the ponds of Hattuša, ex-
cept the Sacred Pool of the Südburg complex.
Although the three categories are distinct, they also
overlap with one another. For instance, ponds might
well have been built for water supply but then also
used simultaneously in cultic activities.
As Gordon already noticed,102 the whole central
Anatolian plateau is a karstic area where underground
water goes in and out. This factor most probably
102 
Gordon, “The Meaning of the Ideogram dKASKAL.KUR,” 70.

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74  F  Journal of Near Eastern Studies
influenced the Anatolians in considering underground
water as a passageway into the netherworld. Both the
archaeological and the philological evidence show a
close relation between water and the netherworld.
More generally, many cuneiform texts show that
the ancient Anatolians—or at least some of them—­
considered water as a path to the other world, namely,
the realm of the dead spirits, but also to the realm
of the deities. According to M. Popko, “the Hittites
considered the soul a material being, a liquid sub-
stance, which under certain conditions could trickle,
flow in drops from a person, and be poured by the
gods ‘like water.’”103 By this statement, Popko is re-
ferring to a passage of Kantuzzili’s prayer in which
we read (KUB 30.10 Vo 14–15): nu=mu pittuliyai
peran ištanzaš=miš tamatta pedi zappiškizzi (“Because
of anguish, my soul is flowing to another place”).104
However, there might be several ways of interpreting
this sentence: either it is to be understood literally,
as Popko did, or it is a metaphor that should not be
over-interpreted. We would rather consider the second
option, although there is no clear proof in favor of it.
Furthermore, one should keep in mind the possibility
that this text may, in part, be a Hittite translation of
an Old Babylonian text, similar to what has been ob-
served in other Hittite prayers. Therefore, this passage
should not be considered clear evidence. However,
our analysis of the “Voyage of the Human Immortal
Soul” myth has suggested that the dead human soul
is actually supposed to use the same paths as the gods
themselves. Therefore, they might also use water to
reach the “Dark Earth.”
Through this study, we hope to have demonstrated
that the denomination “water cult” was probably not
always fitting for the function of a particular Hittite
water installation. For instance, the Südburg complex
is rather to be interpreted as an underground passage-
way into the netherworld and is probably unrelated to
any water cult. However, the existence of a water cult
is proven by the cuneiform texts, as both the rivers and
the springs were duly venerated as deities.
As we have shown, most of the Hittite sacred water
areas have a close relationship with royal ideology.
This is most evident at Südburg, Yalburt, and Efla-
tun Pınar. In that context, like in many others, the
Great King is represented as the main figure. One may
also remember the Hittite text KBo 21.22, in which
103 
M. Popko, Religions of Asia Minor (Warsaw, 1995), 152.
104 
CHD P, 366.
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a “fountain of the Sun deity” (DUTU-waš wattaru)
and a basin (luli(ya)-) are mentioned in relation to a
purification and protection rite for the Great King.105
By building sacred water complexes, the Great King
found an additional opportunity to demonstrate his
power, as well as his special connection with his gods.
In this context, the Hittite cuneiform expression “the
basin of Labarna” (Labarnaš luliya-) is to be noted.
It is mentioned in the instruction to the temple of-
ficials as a location from which a disobedient temple
official should, as a punishment, bring water three
times (KUB 13.4 iii 31–34):
n=an=kan mān UL kunanzi luriyahhandu=ma=an
nu nekumanza TÚG-aš=ši=kan NÍ.TE=ši an[d]
a lē=pat ēšzi nu wātar 3=ŠU labarnaš luliyaza
INA É.DINGIRLIM=ŠU pēdāu nu=(š)ši apāš
lūreš ēšdu
“If they do not kill him [= the offender], let them
humiliate him: (he shall be) naked, let his cloths
not be on his body and, (thus), let him carry
water three times from the basin of Labarna into
his temple. Let that be his humiliation!”106
Therefore, based on the evidence we have discussed
in this article, we would like to suggest that the cul-
tic water complexes and basins were directly related
to the state cult and, subsequently, to the person of
the Hittite Great King. In this respect, one should
consider the possibility that the seemingly isolated
basins of Yalburt and Eflatun Pınar were actually part
of a wider temple complex of two provincial religious
centers. The remains of a settlement that were found
close to Eflatun Pınar are worth further investigation,
for they could help us better understand the whole
area. Similarly, although no settlement dating from
the second millennium b.c.e. has yet been found near
the Yalburt basin, the closest one having been dis-
covered 8 kms away, new surveys in this area could
provide new insights.
105 
G. Kellerman, “The King and the Sun-God in the Old Hittite
Period,” Tel Aviv 5 (1978): 199–208. V. Haas (“Die hethitischen
Religion,” in Die Hethiter und ihr Reich: Das Volk der 1000 Götter,
ed. J. Wenzel [Bonn, 2002], 108) suggests comparing the fountain
and the pond described in this text with the Eflatun Pınar. Note,
however, that this text predates the monument, as it is dated from
the Old Hittite period.
106 
A. Süel, Hitit Kaynaklarında Tapınak Görevlileri ile İlgili bir
Direktif Metni (Ankara, 1985), 60–61.