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Which types of documents were found in the Hittite archives at Hattusa?
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cuneiform
An account of barley distribution, probably from Uruk, Mesopotamia, c. 3100ā2900 bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
The Hittite archives at Hattusa contain a diverse collection of cuneiform tablets that provide extensive insight into the empire's administration, culture, and daily life. While the majority of these texts are religious in natureāincluding hymns, prayers, myths, festival texts, and various ritualsāthe archives also house a wide array of other document types.123
These collections include:
- Legal and Administrative Records: These encompass laws, property rights, land tenure, commodity prices, gift deeds of land, and trial records containing depositions from civil suits.3
- Political and Diplomatic Material: The archives contain state treaties and correspondence with foreign powers, often written in Akkadian, the diplomatic language of the era.1
- Scholarly Literature: Scribes maintained educational materials, such as word lists, omens, and ritual prescriptions, often incorporating Sumerian texts.1
- Divination and Omens: Records of divination (such as hepatoscopy and lottery oracles), dream interpretations, and astrological texts are prevalent.3
- Specialized Texts: Unique documents include treatises on the training of racehorses and detailed funeral rituals for royalty.3