A fragment of a cuneiform tablet found at Hattusa, the Hittite capital in Çorum, central Türkiye, has been identified as part of a copy of the Treaty of Kadesh, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced Sunday.

The fragment was found during excavations near Building E at Büyükkale, according to a statement from the ministry. Scientists examined the fragment for about a year before identifying it as part of the treaty between Hittite King Hattusili III and Egyptian King Ramesses II.

The fragment contains lines from provisions in Articles 12-20 of the treaty concerning people who flee one country and seek refuge in the other. The legible sections mention people fleeing from the lands of Egypt and Hatti, as well as provisions concerning the protection of their homes.

Ersoy announced the discovery in a social media post shared on Sept. 21, World Peace Day, highlighting Anatolia's role in the history of peace and diplomacy.

"We have found the trace of peace in Anatolian soil," Ersoy said, adding that the fragment contains provisions protecting refugees and their homes.

"Shared on September 21, World Peace Day, this discovery underscores Anatolia's deep-rooted place in the history of peace and diplomacy," he said.

Ersoy also referred to the ongoing conflict in Palestine, saying the ancient heritage served as a reminder of the responsibility to protect human life and dignity.

"We wish for a future in which all people, our Palestinian brothers and sisters above all, will live in safety, peace, and tranquility," he said.

Ersoy congratulated the excavation team and scientists who contributed to the discovery.

New piece of the treaty

The Egyptian version of the Treaty of Kadesh was inscribed in hieroglyphs on temple walls in Egypt, while fragments of its Akkadian-language version were found in Hattusa during excavations conducted between 1906 and 1912.

Those fragments are held in the collections of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the Berlin Museum of the Ancient Near East and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

The newly identified fragment adds to efforts to reconstruct the clay-tablet copies of the treaty found at Hattusa.

Excavations at Büyükkale are continuing, with researchers hoping to uncover additional missing fragments of the treaty.