Archaeologists find cache of cuneiform tablets in 2,700-year old Turkish temple.Byline: ANI Toronto, August 8 (ANI): Excavations led by a University of Toronto Research at the University of Toronto has been responsible for the world's first electronic heart pacemaker, artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, G-suit, the first practical electron microscope, the first cloning of T-cells, (U of T) archaeologist at the site of a recently discovered temple in southeastern Turkey have uncovered a cache of cuneiform cuneiform (ky  nē`ĭfôrm) [Lat.,=wedge-shaped], system of writing developed before the last centuries of the 4th millennium B.C. tablets dating
back to 2,700 years ago.
Found in the temple's cella cella (sĕl`ə), the portion of a Roman temple that was enclosed within walls, as distinct from the open colonnaded porticoes that formed the rest of it. It corresponds to the naos in Greek temples. , or 'holy of holies', the tablets, dating back to the Iron Age period between 1200 and 600 BCE BCE abbr. 1. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering 2. Bachelor of Civil Engineering BCE Abbreviation for before the Common Era. , are part of a possible archive. The cella also contained gold, bronze and iron implements, libation li·ba·tion n. 1. a. The pouring of a liquid offering as a religious ritual. b. The liquid so poured. 2. Informal a. A beverage, especially an intoxicating beverage. b. vessels and ornately decorated ritual objects. "The assemblage appears to represent a Neo-Assyrian renovation of an older Neo-Hittite temple complex, providing a rare glimpse into the religious dimension of Assyrian imperial ideology," said Timothy Harrison, professor of near eastern archeology in the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations and director of U of T's Tayinat Archaeological Project (TAP). "The tablets, and the information they contain, may possibly highlight the imperial ambitions of one of the great powers of the ancient world, and its lasting influence on the political culture of the Middle East," he added. Partially uncovered in 2008 at Tell Tayinat Tell Ta'yinat is a low-lying ancient occupation mound in the Hatay province of southeastern Turkey about 25 kilometres from Antakya. The site was a major urban centre during the Early Bronze Age and Iron Age and is thought likely to be the site of ancient Kunulua, the , capital of the Neo-Hittite Kingdom of Palastin, the structure of the building where the tablets were found preserves the classic plan of a Neo-Hittite temple. It formed part of a sacred precinct that once included monumental stelae carved in Luwian (an extinct Anatolian language Noun 1. Anatolian language - an extinct branch of the Indo-European family of languages known from inscriptions and important in the reconstruction of Proto-Indo European Anatolian once spoken in Turkey) hieroglyphic hieroglyphic (hī'rəglĭf`ĭk, hī'ərə–) [Gr.,=priestly carving], type of writing used in ancient Egypt. Similar pictographic styles of Crete, Asia Minor, and Central America and Mexico are also called hieroglyphics script, but which were found by the expedition smashed into tiny shard-like fragments. "Tayinat was destroyed by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III in 738 BCE, and then transformed into an Assyrian provincial capital, equipped with its own governor and imperial administration," said Harrison. "Scholars have long speculated that the reference to Calneh in Isaiah's oracle against Assyria alludes to Tiglath-pileser's devastation of Kunulua - that is, Tayinat," he said. "The destruction of the Luwian monuments and conversion of the sacred precinct into an Assyrian religious complex may represent the physical manifestation of this historic event," he added. The temple was later burned in an intense fire and found filled with heavily charred brick and wood which, ironically, contributed to the preservation of the finds recovered from its inner chambers. "While those responsible for this later destruction are not yet known, the remarkable discoveries preserved in the Tayinat temple clearly record a pivotal moment in its history," said Harrison. "They promise a richly textured view of the cultural and ethnic contest that has long characterized the turbulent history of this region," he added. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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