Read each place through chronology, fieldwork, trade networks, belief, daily life and conservation—not simply as a monument.
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Geographic reading
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Compare nine research files using verified WGS84 reference points. Selecting a site updates the map, chronology and field dossier together.
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The Lion Gate at Hattusa, a monumental entrance on the south-western fortification line.Captured: 2014Photo: Bernard GagnonWikimedia Commons ↗CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗Cropped for web
Selected research file
Hattusa
Capital and archive city of the Hittite Empire
8-minute read
Set across the rocky highlands of Boğazkale, Hattusa brings the Lower and Upper City, Büyükkale, fortification gates, temples, Yazılıkaya and cuneiform archives into one account of Hittite politics, belief and urban order.
Site Profile
Boğazkale, Çorum
Reference location
40.0197° N · 34.6153° E
Chronology
Chalcolithic–Iron Age; capital c. 1650–1180 BCE
Protection / research
UNESCO World Heritage · 1986
Research identity
Excavation and scientific lead
Systematic research begun in 1906 continues within the German Archaeological Institute's long-term Boğazköy programme in cooperation with the Ministry.
ⓘWhere an inventory number or precise layer cannot be verified in open sources, the record says so explicitly.
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Archaeology database · Version 1.1
Nine files in one extensible data model
Province, coordinates, period, site type, research institution, excavation/conservation status, UNESCO record, update date and official source share one record.
Cuneiform archives are on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register
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Field note
A layer-by-layer reading
01
A capital shaped by rock and relief
The city stretches between the crag of Büyükkale and the Lower and Upper City. Its walls, Lion Gate, King's Gate and Yerkapı were more than defences: they staged the capital's ceremonial image through the terrain.
01
The Lion Gate at Hattusa, a monumental entrance on the south-western fortification line.Captured: 2014Photo: Bernard GagnonWikimedia Commons ↗CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗Cropped for web
02
Palace, administration and archives
The palace precinct and tablet archives preserve treaties, letters, laws, rituals and records in several languages. Hittite government can therefore be studied through written administration as well as monumental architecture.
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The Sphinx Gate above the Yerkapı rampart and its Hittite masonry.Captured: 2016Photo: Carole RaddatoWikimedia Commons ↗CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗Cropped for web
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Temples and Yazılıkaya
The Great Temple, the Upper City's temple district and the rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya formed an exceptionally dense ritual landscape. Processions of deities show how the imperial pantheon was ordered and represented.
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Remains of the Great Temple in the Lower City and the green stone.Captured: 2013Photo: Murat Özsoy 1958Wikimedia Commons ↗CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Cropped for web
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Excavation, recording and conservation
Systematic work began in 1906 and has continued within the German Archaeological Institute's long-term programme since 1931. Current research combines stratigraphy, architectural recording, archaeometry, environmental evidence and conservation.
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The Upper City temple district at Hattusa within the Boğazkale landscape.Captured: 2016Photo: Carole RaddatoWikimedia Commons ↗CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗Cropped for web
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Layers after the capital
The political breakdown around the early 12th century BCE did not make every form of occupation vanish at once. Iron Age and later traces show how the Boğazkale landscape was reused after the imperial capital ended.
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Relief of the Twelve Gods in procession at the Yazılıkaya rock sanctuary.Captured: 2001Photo: China CrisisWikimedia Commons ↗CC BY-SA 2.5 ↗Cropped for web
Sources and further reading
Hattusa
The editorial text is checked against official institutions, excavation teams and World Heritage sources.
