New Indo-European language discovered in Hattusa

In a statement from the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, it was highlighted that Hattusa, located in Boğazköy-Hattusa in the northern part of Central Anatolia, served as the capital of the Hittite Empire, one of the major powers of the Late Bronze Age in the Near East.

The statement noted that over 100 years of excavation in Hattusa has resulted in the discovery of approximately 30,000 clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script, which have been registered as part of the UNESCO World Memory List since 2001. These tablets are known to provide rich information about the history, society, economy, and most importantly, the religious traditions of the Hittites and their neighbors.

Archaeological work led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Schachner from the German Archaeological Institute Istanbul Branch continues to uncover new cuneiform findings, adding to the existing corpus of inscriptions.

The statement revealed that this year's excavations unearthed a unique discovery within a cult ritual text written in Hittite. It was a reading text written in an unknown language. Prof. Dr. Daniel Schwemer, the epigraphist for the excavation from the University of Würzburg in Germany, identified this language as that of the Kalazmala country, most likely located in the northwestern end of the Hittite heartland, possibly the modern Bolu or Gerede region.

Discovering another language within the Hattusa archives is not entirely unexpected. According to Prof. Schwemer, the Hittites had a unique interest in recording rituals in foreign languages. The ritual texts composed by scribes of the Hittite king reflect various Anatolian, Syrian, and Mesopotamian traditions and linguistic environments. These rituals provide valuable insights into the little-known linguistic landscape of Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age when Hittite was not spoken. Additionally, the cuneiform texts from Boğazköy-Hattusa include passages in other Anatolian Indo-European languages closely related to Hittite, such as Luvian and Palaic, as well as Hattic, a non-Indo-European language. Now, the Kalazmala language can be added to this list.

The text written in the newly discovered Kalazmala language is currently largely unintelligible and will require further research to be deciphered.

Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Rieken, an expert in ancient Anatolian languages, has confirmed that this new language belongs to the Anatolian Indo-European language family. According to Rieken, despite its geographical proximity to the region where Palaic was spoken, this text appears to share more linguistic features with Luvian, a language closely related to Hittite. The extent of the relationship between the Kalazmala language and other Luvian dialects in Late Bronze Age Anatolia will be the subject of further research.