Abstract:

The township of Ortaköy is situated 55 km northwest of Çorum, in the North of Central Anatolia. The Hittite City of Shapinuwa lies on a stepped plateau 3 km southwest of Ortaköy township. The settlement occupied a large area 3 km in width and 2.5 km in length, divided into an upper and a lower part. The excavations which began in 1990 are uncovering two buildings which possess the characteristics of monumental architecture. As excavation of these structures is not yet complete, it is too early to draw any conslusions regarding the buildings usage or relation to one another. It may be suggested that building 'A' was a palace or some other official building. In building ‘B', the ground floor was used as a large store room. The discovery of a rich archive at Ortaköy is particulary important. The large town Shapinuwa and the cities related to it occupy a large geographical area. In light of the information provided by the archives, it is to be understood that this Hittite town was a significant administrative centre, as well as the capital in which The Great King resided. It has been established that most of the tablets of Ortakoy-Shapinuwa belonged to the Middle Hittite Period (14th Century B.C.). On the otherhand, the archival information illustrates that the Hittite town of Shapinuwa occupied an area of 9 square kilometers and that it was settled not only during the Middle Hittite Period, but for a longer period than this.

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