Hittite women’s hair tie discovered

ÇORUM – Anadolu Agency

AA photo

Excavations that have been continuing in Alacahöyük, one of the centers of Hittite civilization and considered Turkey’s first “national excavation field,” have unearthed nearly 3,700-year-old hair ties and jewelry made of animal horns.

The head of the excavations, Professor Aykut Çınaroğlu, said they had found the hair ties during excavations in the chambers of the mine factory. 

“The four ties we found are made of bronze, copper and tin. The motifs on the ties are interesting. We estimate that the Hittite women used these ties to tie their hair in ponytails,” he said. 

Çınaroğlu said both the royal family members and the public had used the hair ties according to their estimations. 

He said the ties were produced in the factory. “Hittite people were proud of their beardless and clean face, but the Assyrians had beards. In my opinion, these ties were used by women. We know that the Hittite women used to wear earrings and necklaces. They would have been used by the public.” 

He said they had also found jewelry made of horns during an excavation in another field. 

“It has some motifs on it like an eye. It is nice jewelry. We don’t know what kind of horn it is. It was also used by the public. Such jewelry was used in the Hittite era. We can say that these people were fond of such things,” Çınaroğlu said, adding that works would continue and that they expected to find other important artifacts during the excavations in the factory and other fields.