#yarim-lim

[blueiscoool]

3,800-Year-Old Cuneiform Clay Tablet Found in Turkey

Archeologists have discovered a 3,800-year-old cuneiform clay tablet in southern Turkiye during restoration work after the massive earthquakes in the region earlier this year, Anadolu reported today.

Murat Akar, an archeology professor at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, said a 25-member team found the clay tablet with cuneiform inscription in Akkadian language in nearly 4,000-year-old Accana tumulus in the southern Hatay province.

The Kahramanmaras-centred twin earthquakes on 6 February, which caused great destruction in Hatay, also affected the historical site, which was determined to be the location of Alalakh, the capital of the Mukish Kingdom during the Middle and Late Bronze Age periods.

Restoration and protection work have started with the leadership of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to repair the damages on some parts of the ruins of palace walls, Akar said.

As part of the study, the team that removed the rubble of the walls found a clay tablet among the ruins.

The first examination of the tablet in Akkadian language revealed information containing an agreement made by Yarim-Lim, the first known king of Alalakh, to purchase another city.

Akar said the tablet is not damaged and the finding was “so exciting.”

“It proves to us that those kings had the economic power and potential to buy another city in those times. There is also the name of the important people of the city who witnessed this sale on the tablet, most likely,” he added.

“The work came out as an extremely unique example, especially to decipher the economic structure of that period, the relationship between cities, the economic and political model,” Akar said.

The tablet will be transferred to a museum after the examinations, the head of the restoration team said.

[jackoshadows]

A 3,800-year-old Akkadian cuneiform tablet was found during the archaeological excavations carried out in the Aççana Mound, the old city of Alalakh, in the Reyhanlı district of Hatay city in southern Turkey.

Removing the wall rubble as part of the study, the team found a cuneiform clay tablet among the remains.

In the first examination of the Akkadian tablet, information regarding the agreement made by Yarim-Lim, the first known king of Alalakh, to buy another city was found.

Akar emphasized that the tablet found among the remains, dating back 3,800 years, is in a well-preserved form. "While removing the debris of a few collapsed walls at the mound, it was very exciting to come across a tablet that had never been touched or damaged," he said.

Akar continued by stating that the historical period of the artifact extends to the Middle Bronze Age. "During the Middle Bronze Age, a period we define as such, we observe that the kings of this region possessed economic power. This is evidenced by astonishing examples documented in written records. In this tablet, we see that Yarim-Lim, the first known king of Alalakh, intended to purchase another city and, in this regard, entered into an agreement. This actually demonstrates that the kings in this region had the economic capability and potential to acquire another city," he said.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akar, who pointed out that the tablet would also contribute to understanding the economic structure of the era, stated,

"The tablet likely contains the names of significant individuals from the city who witnessed this sale. In a sense, we see evidence of a witness list from that period,"

"The work came out as an extremely unique example, especially to decipher the economic structure of that period, the relationship between cities, and the economic and political model," he said.