Late Hittite city sheds light on Tabal Kingdom

NİĞDE

The Tabal Kingdom, which ruled Niğde and its surroundings around 2,800 years ago, continues to illuminate the region’s political and cultural past through its settlement traces and multicultural character.

Located at the summit of Mount Güllü within the boundaries of Kömürcü village in Niğde’s Çiftlik district, the Late Hittite ancient city was discovered by chance nearly 100 years ago by a local shepherd named Civan Ali.

Following the discovery, scientific excavations and surveys were launched in the early years of the Republic upon the instructions of then-President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The first excavations began in 1934 under Professor Remzi Oğuz Arık. Further work was carried out in 1968 by archaeologist Burhan Tezcan and in 1992 by Professor Wulf Schirmer of the German Archaeological Institute, shaping the site as it is known today.

Archaeologist Mustafa Eryaman told state-run Anadolu Agency that Mount Güllü is deeply intertwined with the Late Hittite city built on it. He said the presence of a crater lake on the mountain and its strategic defensive advantages in the Late Hittite period were key reasons for the city’s location, stressing that a massive settlement was established there.

Examining aerial photographs of the site, Eryaman said they observed a symmetrical layout of streets, avenues and buildings.

“There is a ‘grid’ plan here. In Anatolia, this represents one of the clearest, most orderly and most magnificent examples of a symmetrically planned ancient city,” he said. “The city was founded between the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. Its core area is the palace complex, which also gained the status of a temple. Since kings or queens were regarded as divine figures due to belief systems, this palace also functioned as a temple. With the inner fortifications enclosing the palace-temple complex and a massive outer wall surrounding the city, Mount Güllü became a fully fortified settlement.”

Three Republican-era excavations

Eryaman noted that the first excavation at Mount Güllü was launched in 1934 by Atatürk’s order. Recalling that the site was discovered by the shepherd Civan Ali, he said the initial excavations uncovered a monumental double-headed lion statue and column bases.

“The lion sculpture is about 1.5 meters high and 2 meters wide. After being unearthed, it was transported to Kayseri and, more recently, moved to the Niğde Archaeology Museum,” he said. “Lion-based column pedestals were also found, along with unfinished lion sculptures. Some of these artifacts are in the Kayseri Archaeology Museum, while others are housed in the Niğde Archaeology Museum.”

He added that three main excavation phases were carried out at the site: The first in 1934, the second in 1968 under Burhan Tezcan, and the third in 1992–1993 by Prof. Wulf Schirmer. “With these three excavations during the Republican era, the city was essentially brought to light,” Eryaman said.

According to Eryaman, relatively few ceramic remains linked to daily life were found during the excavations, suggesting that the city may have been abandoned during its construction phase.

He said several theories exist regarding the abandonment of the city. One interpretation points to the harsh climate at an altitude of 2,172 meters above sea level, making long-term habitation difficult. Another suggests the city was damaged during construction by a sudden external attack, forcing the population and rulers to flee. A third theory proposes that a disease outbreak led the inhabitants and leadership to abandon the settlement.

“Which of these interpretations is accurate remains a mystery,” Eryaman said. “We do not have any concrete scientific data to confirm them.”

Emphasizing the site’s importance, he said Mount Güllü has made a major contribution to the history, geography and urban culture of Niğde. “After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, small Hittite polities emerged in different parts of Anatolia. Mount Güllü can be described as the first and only known city of the Tabal Kingdom,” he said.

Eryaman also underlined that opening the Late Hittite city to tourism would be significant for both local culture and the regional economy.