3,800-Year-Old Cuneiform Tablet Unearthed at Earthquake-Damaged Site in Turkey

Earlier this year, a massive and horrifying earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria.

Almost 60,000 people died in the deadliest earthquake in present-day Turkey since the 526 Antioch earthquake and the deadliest natural disaster in its modern history.

When residential buildings, bridges, and modern infrastructure collapses, the main focus is naturally to save as many lives as possible.

The earthquake on February 6 also destroyed many valuable historical ancient sites, which were lost forever, and archaeologists met the natural disaster with deep sadness.

Now, scientists find interesting ancient artifacts during restoration work after the massive earthquakes in the region.

The latest discovery has been reported from southern Turkey, where archaeologists have been present in Hatay, where restoration and protection work has started with the leadership of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to repair the damages on some parts of the ruins of the palace walls.

Murat Akar, an archeology professor at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, announced
that “a 25-member team found the clay tablet with cuneiform inscription in the Akkadian language in the nearly 4,000-year-old Accana tumulus in the southern Hatay province,” the Anadolu agency reports.

The cuneiform clay tablet is about 3,800 years old and was found among the ancient ruins when the team removed rubble from the walls.

Cuneiform tablets are one of the earliest systems of writing invented by the Sumerians. The Sumerian script was also adapted for writing the Akkadian, Elamite, Hittite, Luwian, Hattic, Hurrian, and Urartian languages.

Unearthed cuneiform clay tablets provide scientists with vast knowledge about the region’s customs, traditions, scientific progress, trade, daily events, and much more.

According to Akar, the ancient clay tablet found among the ruins in the Accana tumulus is undamaged.

It is written in the Akkadian language and reveals information containing an agreement made by Yarim-Lim, the first known king of Alalakh, to purchase another city.

“It proves us that those kings had the economic power and potential to buy another city in those times. There is also the name of the important people of the city who witnessed this sale on the tablet, most likely.

The work came out as an extremely unique example, especially to decipher the economic structure of that period, the relationship between cities, the economic and political model,” Akar told the Anadolu agency.

The tablet will be transferred to a museum after the examinations, said the restoration team head.