Archaeologists working in Turkey have made a startling discovery, unearthing a 3,300-year-old artefact inscribed with a bone-chilling warning from the ancient past.
A Sinister Message from the Bronze Age
The remarkable find was made at the Büklükale ruins, located near the Kizilirmak River approximately 60 miles from Ankara. The clay tablet, dating back to the Hittite Empire era, carries a dire message aimed at its intended recipient. According to experts from Anatolian Archaeology, the inscription delivers a stark threat: "whoever breaks this will die."
This ominous warning is believed to have been issued by the Hittite royal authority to protect the sanctity of a contract or agreement that likely accompanied the tablet. The discovery has sent ripples through the archaeological community, particularly surprising the team led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kimiyoshi Matsumura from the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology and Kırşehir Ahi Evran University.
Royal Seals and a City of Significance
Dr Matsumura, who heads the excavation, revealed that the artefact is a fragmented terracotta seal inscribed with cuneiform script. He explained that such seals were used by the Great King (Tabarna) or Sovereign Queen (Tavananna) to authenticate official documents. "On the seal, the Great King Tabarna or Tavananna writes 'Whoever breaks this will die'," Matsumura stated.
This practice marks a significant departure from typical Hittite law, which usually imposed fines for breaches of contract, making this direct threat of corporal punishment exceptionally unusual. The presence of the royal seal strongly indicates that Büklükale enjoyed intensive relations with the capital, Hattusa, and the royal family.
Further evidence from the 2023 excavation season, including pottery analysis, suggests Büklükale was a single-period Hittite settlement spanning roughly 500 metres in diameter. Additional finds, such as a tablet detailing a civil war from the same period and recently discovered Hurrian tablets pointing to religious ceremonies, bolster the site's importance.
Unravelling the Hittite Empire's Final Days
The tablet's primary message, beyond its grim warning, reveals crucial historical details about a catastrophic invasion that threatened the Hittite Empire. This aligns with the broader historical narrative of the empire's tumultuous collapse during the Late Bronze Age.
Dr Matsumura posits that the cumulative evidence—the royal death warning, the civil war tablet, and the religious texts—paints a picture of Büklükale as a significant, possibly royal, centre. "All these finds show that Büklükale is an important city in the Hittite Empire," he summarised, adding that it is thought the Hittite king may have resided or performed ceremonies there.
The discovery not only provides a vivid, personal glimpse into the legal and diplomatic practices of one of the ancient world's great empires but also helps archaeologists piece together the events that led to its eventual downfall over three millennia ago.
