records, but we did not know precisely where they were–until
their sites were excavated and tablet archives found there
established their identification. Most notable among them was
the important Hittite city called Sapinuwa (modern Ortaköy),
which lay 60 km northeast of Hattusa. Archaeological and written
evidence now combine to indicate that this was a major
administrative centre of the kingdom, probably a base for Hittite
armies, and the site of an important royal palace (where the king
resided during his visits to the region). Some 3,000 clay tablets were
found in the palace complex. Not yet fully published, they provide
us with important information about the daily affairs of the region.
Many are letters exchanged between the Hittite king and his
regional officials, and between the officials themselves. We’ll come
back to this.
Sites like Sapinuwa are fairly exceptional. More often, we have
ones that are clearly Hittite, or have a Hittite phase, but no texts
that identify them. A classic case is the site now known as Alaca
Höyük, about 40 km northeast of Hattusa. Alaca was already an
impressive site in the Early Bronze Age, illustrated by 13‘royal’
shaft graves from this phase of its existence. The graves contained
rich funerary goods, most notably ritual disk and arc standards,
each of which incorporated a stylised bull or stag or both, usually
made of bronze inlaid with gold or silver. As I’ve noted in the
Introduction, a giant replica of one of them has been erected in
Ankara to remind us of Turkey’s ancient heritage. In the Hittite
period, Alaca was very likely an important cult centre–perhaps
the city called Arinna in the texts, city of the Sun-Goddess. Its well-
preserved monumental entrance-way, flanked by sphinxes, is
embellished by lively entertainment and festival scenes, plus a
depiction of the king and queen standing before the altar of the
Storm God–all perhaps scenes taken from a festival celebration.
The city also contains the remains of what is probably a palace,
some residential quarters and several temples–but alas, no texts
that confirm what it was called in Hittite times.
When we move further west in Anatolia, our attempts to
reconstruct a map of the Hittite world become even more
problematical. We know from our texts the names of many
48 WARRIORS OF ANATOLIA