A 3,500-year-old cuneiform tablet unearthed during seasonal excavations at Aççana Mound in the Reyhanlı district of Hatay provides important information about the commercial life of the region. Aççana Mound is known as the “Old Alalah”, the capital of the Mukiş Kingdom during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The excavations are carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Excavations Department Head, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Akar, Head of the Department of Protohistory and Near Eastern Archeology at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Archeology Department.
Following the Akkadian cuneiform clay tablet found in previous seasons, new findings have been unearthed in excavations this season. In the most recent excavations, a cuneiform tablet dating back to the 15th century BC and weighing approximately 28 grams was found. This tablet contains detailed information about the administrative and economic structure of the region. The tablet contains records of a large amount of furniture shopping lists from the period.
The head of the excavation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Akar stated that in addition to the excavations at Aççana Mound, they also tried to unearth historical structures in the region. The 3,500-year-old cuneiform tablet obtained as a result of the work clearly reflects the administrative and economic power of Eski Alalah, the capital of the Mukish Kingdom. The tablet provides important clues about the functioning of the region’s trade economy.
The studies on the tablet are being conducted by Johns Hopkins University faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jacob Lauinger and doctoral student Zeynep Türker. The absence of any deformation on the tablet increases the readability of this ancient document. Studies on the tablet written in cuneiform are ongoing and it is stated that new information may be obtained.
