Archaeologists uncover rare seal with deliberately erased name in Türkiye
Archaeologists working at Uşaklı Höyük in central Türkiye have discovered a rare seal bearing an Anatolian hieroglyphic inscription whose owner’s name was deliberately erased in antiquity, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The find was made during the fourteenth excavation campaign conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Central Anatolia in cooperation with Turkish researchers. Fieldwork took place from early May to mid-July 2026.
The dome-shaped seal, made of steatite or red hematite, features a geometric decoration on its upper surface and a wave motif surrounding a circular space on the underside. The owner’s name was once engraved in the center using Anatolian hieroglyphics, a writing system used between Anatolia and northern Syria from the late Bronze Age to the Iron Age.
Researchers determined that the inscription had been intentionally abraded, while the surrounding decoration remained intact. They believe someone sought to erase not only the name, but also the memory, status and authority of its bearer.
Despite the damage, specialists managed to recover and interpret traces of the inscription. The identity of the seal’s owner and its historical significance are expected to be disclosed in a separate scientific publication.
The object was discovered near the Circular Structure, an enigmatic monument that may have served ritual purposes. Archaeologists also found layers of ash, animal bones, ceramics, libation vessels and a pottery fragment decorated with the head of a bull, an animal associated with the Hittite Storm God.
At the summit of the site, the team uncovered a substantial wall with a thick layer of burnt plaster, believed to be part of an important building destroyed by fire. A small number of associated ceramic fragments tentatively date the remains to the Middle Iron Age. If confirmed, the discovery could represent the first evidence of a building constructed on the citadel centuries after the abandonment of the Hittite public buildings.
Uşaklı Höyük is increasingly identified with ancient Zippalanda, a sacred Hittite city and pilgrimage destination connected with the cult of the Storm God. Systematic excavations have been conducted at the site since 2013 under a permit issued by Türkiye’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that archaeologists had uncovered around 25 turtle figurines believed to be up to 16,500 years old at the Gedikkaya Hill and In Cave Archaeological Excavation Site in northwestern Türkiye.
