Historical artifacts unearthed in excavations carried out by Turkish and Italian teams in the ancient city of Karkamış in southeastern Gaziantep province have revealed different perspectives on the history of the region and insight into Assyrian-Hittite relations.
Situated along the Syrian border on the western coast of the Euphrates River, Karkamış is one of the most important settlements of Near East archeology, bearing the signs of Hittites and Assyrians and the remnants of the Hellenistic and Roman eras.
Excavations in the ancient site focused on many areas and promise to illuminate the history of the city of Karkamış in detail. A report prepared by the Turkish-Italian team following the completion of the 10th season of excavations in Karkamış highlights the importance of the ancient site.
According to the report, the team kept finding artifacts from the Hittite Empire era, when the city was at its peak, in the eastern part of the lower palace area. Dozens of clay seals belonging to the highest officials of the Hittite administration were discovered in the administrative structure called the "House of the Seal" in this area. By determining which goods these seals were applied to, researchers are able to piece together the basic idea of how the administration ran the vassal kingdom of Karkamış.
Another significant finding in the building was a bulla, a ball with seal impressions, that possibly belonged to Piradu, a prominent merchant of the Middle Assyrian Empire. It is believed that working out Piradu's identity will help contribute to the analysis of Hittite-Assyrian relations, which deteriorated towards the collapse of the Hittite state, and the chronology of certain events of the period.
Another important find is an Anatolian hieroglyphic inscription painted on a piece of pottery that reads "X-patu, the Manager of the City," a discovery encountered for the first time in Anatolia.
Moreover, the excavations revealed that the administrative building continued to function during the Iron Age period, which is known as the "Dark Age." Around 100 seals belonging to that period, including rare Anatolian Hieroglyphic seal impressions, were unearthed. It is also considered remarkable that about two-thirds of the seal prints belong to a woman named Matiya. It is emphasized that this may be an indication that women may have had an important economic role in the state administration at the time.
