assistance. Small clay models of Hittite walls and towers and other
evidence from the Hittite period were used as a basis for the
reconstruction. The casemate wall, built on stone bases called
socles, reach a maximum height of 8.3 m above ground level, the
towers 12.8 m.‘Casemate’is the term applied to walls consisting
of parallel outer and inner shells (eachc.1.5–2 m thick) like two
parallel courses of cavity brick in modern houses, linked to each
other by crosswalls. These crosswalls created chambers called cists.
In other fortification systems, cists could be used as storage rooms,
for food and military equipment. But there was no evidence of this
at Hattusa, and the cists in the reconstructed fortifications are
packed with earth. The width of the walls, inclusive of the cists,
ranges from 3–5 m. The mudbricks themselves were made of loam
tempered with straw and pebbles– essential to ensure that the
bricks would not crack while drying out, or crumble under
pressure. They were moulded in wooden frames with dimensions
of 45£ 45 £10 cm. Each brick weighed around 34 kgs.
The brick-making was carried out during the driest part of the
year, from June through September. Of course even in these
Figure 21.13Reconstructed wall, Hattusa.
CITY OF TEMPLES AND BUREAUCRATS:THE ROYAL CAPITAL 221