New Evidence on Central Anatolia during the Second Millennium BCE Excavations at Büklükale

The circumstances behind the emergence of the Hittite kingdom remain one of the unsolved questions in Hittite history. In particular, the decades between the end of the kārum period and the establishment of Hattusa as the Hittite capital remain largely unknown. The site of Büklükale, a second-millennium BCE city situated on the banks of the Kızılırmak River in central Anatolia, is a promising candidate for filling this gap. Eleven years of research have revealed a large-scale, fortified city that was settled throughout the second millennium BCE. In the excavations on the citadel area, traces of intensive settlement in the Hittite period and a substantial building constructed using cyclopean masonry in the kārum period were found, indicating continued settlement into the Hittite period. Finds such as a Hattian foundation ceremony, a Hurrian glass bottle, and early Luwian hieroglyphs also reveal the multicultural character of the site. Its multicultural nature may be a clue to comprehending the emergence process of the Hittite Kingdom in Anatolia.