Turkish archaeologists found a 3,500-year-old tablet that turned out to be an ancient shopping list.
On Wednesday, July 31, the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Ersoy, announced the discovery of the ancient tablet, which listed a large furniture purchase. The tablet weighs roughly 28 grams.
Ersoy says the Ministry of Culture and Tourism expects the discovery to provide insight and “a new perspective” when understanding Late Bronze Age economics and state structure. The tablet specifically details a large purchase of wooden tables, chairs, and stools.
Unlike a recent Bronze Age discovery of tools in the Czech Republic that was discovered through a deliberate survey and excavation, the discovery in Turkey’s Hatay Province was made by accident while the city of Alalakh underwent restoration work. The restoration follows a massive earthquake that struck the area on Feb. 6, 2023, which destroyed entire cities throughout the southeastern part of the nation and killed over 50,000.
The devastating 7.8-magnitude quake destroyed buildings, roads, airport tarmacs, and bridges and impacted millions of people across all 11 provinces in Turkey. The earthquake was felt all the way in Egypt. A year and a half later, hundreds of thousands remain displaced from their homes while construction efforts continue across the country to rebuild while preparing for future quakes that could make the situation worse.
The discovery also represents an advancement in the understanding of the ancient Akkadian form of writing called cuneiform, which was written by using a stylus and impressing the marks into clay. The clay tablets were then fired in order to be hardened. Akkadian is an ancient Semitic language spoken in Mesopotamia, the area that is now modern-day Iraq and Syria. It was used between 2800 BC and 500 AD.
The tablet is about half an inch thick and measures around 1.6 inches and researchers believe it dates from around the 15th Century BC. At the time of the tablet’s creation, Alalakh was part of the Mittani Empire, known for its production of metal, glass, and pottery wares. At its height, the Mittani Empire rivaled more well-known powers such as Babylonia, Assyria, Hatti, and Ancient Egypt.
