Structures at Uşaklı Mound may be ancient Zippalanda

YOZGAT – Anadolu Agency

This year’s excavations at the Uşaklı Mound in Yozgat have unearthed two structures that may be part of “Zippalanda,” an ancient Hittite center. 

Last year, 4,000 year-old cuneiform scripts were found at the mound in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat’s Sorgun district. 

Excavations started in 2008 in the Uşaklı Mound, close to the Büyük Taşlık village, by a team headed by Florence University Professor Stefania Mazzoni. This year works at the ruins have unearthed two structures, possibly a temple and a castle. 

The deputy head of the excavations, Florence University’s Valentina Orsi, said they were trying to know the field with a previous surface survey and the mound had “significant historical features.” 

Four pieces of cuneiform script and pottery found in the field show that the mound developed in the Hittite era, said Orsi.

“The Uşaklı Mound might be Zippalanda, which is mentioned in ancient Hittite documents. Its geographical location and closeness to the Kerkenes Mountain verify this estimation. Excavations that were carried out in 2013 in collaboration with Yozgat Museum and Florence University, unearthed a big public structure, which has a deep and strong foundation,” she added. 

Orsi said they discovered important findings every year at the site since 2008. 

“So far we have found two important buildings. One is most probably a sacred place, which we think is a temple. We think the other is a castle. The findings show us that the region was a very important settlement, a big city. We also found five cuneiform scripts from the Hittite era. They are different from each other, showing that different cities had relations with each other in the Hittite era,” she added.