Çorum Boğazköy Archaeological Site

Hattuşa (Boğazköy) Archaeological Site

In the 2nd millennium BC, the Hittites, one of the superpowers of the Ancient East such as Egypt and Babylon, ruled a large part of Anatolia and Northern Syria until 1200 BC. Hattuşa, the capital of this empire, is in the Boğazkale district of Çorum. The ruins, which were unearthed and restored during archaeological excavations and can be visited as an open-air museum, form the focal point of the Historical National Park. Hattuşa is one of the nine spots that UNESCO included in the World Cultural Heritage List in Turkey in 1986. In addition, the cuneiform tablet archives found here have been included in UNESCO's "Memory of the World List" since 2001.

Hattuşa was discovered by Charles Texier in 1834. In fact, this is not only the discovery of Hattuşa, but the discovery of the Hittites, which has been completely forgotten.

During the Hittite Empire period, that is, between 1400 and 1200 BC, Hattuşa was surrounded by a six-kilometer-long wall.

Among the gates on this new city wall, the Lion Gate and the King Gate, on the inside of which the armed god is embroidered in relief, are the most important ones. The Ground Gate at the southern end of the city must have had a special role. An earthen embankment 30 m high, 250 m long and 80 m wide was formed here. The Sphinx Gate is located in the middle of the city wall that passes over this embankment. Right under this door, there is the only potern (tunnel) of Hattuşa that can be passed through today. You can get out of the city wall by passing the 71 meters long and 3 meters high potern (tunnel).