Hittite city of Kayalıpınar to open to visitors in 2024

Sivas's Yıldızeli district is home to the 3,800-year-old Hittite city of Kayalıpınar, formerly known as "Samuha," which is planned to open to visitors next year.

Excavations at Kayalıpınar, which first began in 2005 under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vuslat Müller Karpe of Germany's Marburg Philipps University on behalf of the Sivas Museum Directorate, have been continuing intermittently.

Excavations conducted during different periods have so far uncovered structural traces from the ancient Assyrian Trade Colonies, Hittite, Roman, and Byzantine periods, as well as graves from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Early Christian eras, and numerous seal impressions belonging to Hittite kings, princes, and officials.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Maner, a faculty member at Koç University's Department of Archaeology and History of Art and the head of the excavations, stated that in addition to archaeological and research excavations, they are also making efforts to protect Kayalıpınar and pass it on to future generations.

Maner said, "The oldest structures in Kayalıpınar are two large burnt mud-brick buildings dating back to 1900 BC. A protective roof project is being drawn up for them. We will soon submit the roof project to the Regional Board for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and, hopefully, we will strive to build it as soon as possible."

Expressing their desire to bring Kayalıpınar into regional tourism, Maner added, "After the landscaping, we plan to open Kayalıpınar to visitors next year. Signage, walking paths—all of these are missing here. A proper landscaping and protection project is required so that students and teachers can benefit from this place. We are working on this as well."

Explaining that the oldest layer of Kayalıpınar belongs to the same period as Kültepe Kaniş/Karum, Maner stated, "Assyrian cuneiform tablets were found here, from which we can understand that these were houses belonging to merchants."

WORK CONTINUES ON MUD-BRICK STRUCTURES

Stating that they have been working on the burnt mud-brick structures, which have been covered with plastic sheets for about 15 years, Maner provided the following information:

"This summer, we removed all the plastic sheets and began restoration and conservation work to understand the condition of the mud bricks. We also started the roof project. Our goal is both to protect this place and to support the cultural tourism of Kayalıpınar, Sivas, and Turkey. Thanks to this roof, we want to protect one of the rarest and oldest mud-brick structures in Anatolia. This year, we will also perform various analyses by taking samples from the mud bricks and plasters here. Through these samples, we will try to determine when this building burned down, what kind of materials the mud bricks were made of, and the thickness of the plasters. We aim to conduct a study here on many subjects and present it to everyone in the form of a beautiful publication."