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Archaeologists working at the ancient Hittite settlement of Kayalıpınar, located in Türkiye's Sivas province, have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved clay tablet containing a bird omen text...The discovery was made as part of an ongoing excavation led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Maner of Koç University's Department of Archaeology and Art History. The site, historically known as Samuha, holds immense historical importance as a major administrative and religious center of the Hittite Empire...The tablet offers insights into Hittite divination practices, particularly the interpretation of bird movements as omens. Known as "bird oracles", these texts were central to Hittite spiritual and state...

A seal impression belonging to Hattusili III was found during the excavations carried out near the village of Kayalipinar in Yildizeli district of Sivas province, located in the central Anatolia region of Türkiye.Hattusili III, one of the most famous kings of the Hittites, took his place in history with the Battle of Kadesh and the subsequent Kadesh Peace Treaty. Not only was Hattusilis successful in his military exploits, both before and after his assumption of the kingship, he and his wife Puduhepa, instituted religious reforms within the Hittite kingdom and engaged in extensive diplomatic relations with other great powers of...

Recent excavations near the Turkish village of Kayalipinar, which has been identified as the ancient Hittite settlement of Samuha, unearthed 56 cuneiform tablets and 22 seal impressions that have provided new insight into Late Bronze Age political structures and religious rituals, according to a Türkiye Today report. Several of the clay tablets contain information concerning bird divination, a practice in which priests were consulted and would make prophecies based on the behavior and flight patterns of birds. The texts record inquiries that were made to these interpreters, called lumushen, regarding the fates of royal heirs such as the crown princes...