A HITTITE SITE IN CENTRAL ANATOLIA

The results of the archaeological survey at Usakli Hoyuk and its region gave evidence of a continuous occupation from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period; it was in the Hittite period that the site flourished being occupied by large probably public buildings, and walled by casemate fortifications with substantial gates. The rich collection of pottery, a fragment of a large Hittite cuneiform tablet and a clay sealing of a Hittite stamp seal date the Hittite occupation from the 17th-16th cent. B.C. to the 13th cent., when the town was destroyed by an intense fire, which is documented by burnt materials spread on the surface of the low terrace. These results would appear to confirm the importance of Usakli in the Hittite period and support its identification with one of the sacred towns of central Anatolia, such as Zippalanda.