2024-07-15 02:54:58
The terracotta (clay) seal was found at an archaeological site in Turkey about 100 km from the current capital of the country, Ankara. And believed to have belonged to the Hittite royal family, skelbia „Anatolian Archaeology“. Inscribed on the seal are the words: “Whoever breaks it shall die.”
Dr. Archaeologists led by Kimiyoshi Matsumura discovered the seal in 2023. – and when they translated the inscription on it, they found an unexpected threat. Scholars say Hittite law focused on fines rather than capital punishment or corporal punishment for crimes, so they were surprised by the find.
“There is an inscription on this seal: whoever breaks it will die,” says K. Matsumura. “Such seals were usually placed on contracts, indicating that if the contract was broken, there would be a penalty.”
K. Matsumura indicates that the seal belonged to the royal family – most likely the king or queen of the time.
The Hittite Empire disappeared more than 3,000 years ago, and recent evidence suggests that it took just three years of severe drought to bring down the once-massive civilization. This period is today called the collapse of the Bronze Age.
Parengta pagal „Popular Mechanics“ ir „The Daily Caller“.
2024-07-15 02:54:58