Hittites & Archaeology
From Hattusa, Alacahöyük and Šapinuwa to lesser-known mounds: Çorum's Hittite capitals, ancient sites, rock tombs and archaeology museums.
Çorum is home to Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire, to Alacahöyük with its Hattian and Hittite layers, and to the second administrative centre Šapinuwa — the backbone of the province's archaeological map. Around them lie Early Bronze Age cemeteries, Hittite cult centres, Hellenistic rock tombs and three museums displaying the finds. This page gathers all archaeology content on the site: ancient sites, mounds and museums.
Ancient sites, mounds and rock tombs
All →A Monumental Building at Şapinuva Dated to the 1380s BC
A building at Şapinuva with L-shaped rooms, detected by geophysics in 2024 and dated to the 1380s BC, still has an unkno…
Akkaya Mound (Akkaya Höyük)
A mound on a triangular rise beside the Bayat stream in the village of Yerliköy, Bayat, with pottery finds dating it to …
Alacahöyük
In Çorum's Alaca district, Alacahöyük is a mound famed for its royal tombs and sphinx gate, continuously settled from th…
Alacahöyük Museum
Affiliated with the Çorum Museum, the Alacahöyük Museum displays finds ranging from the Chalcolithic to the Phrygian era…
Boğazköy Museum
Affiliated with the Çorum Museum Directorate, the Boğazköy Museum in Boğazkale is a local Hittite museum displaying find…
Boyalı Mound and Fatmaören Mound
Near the town of Yörüklü, a few kilometres from Hüseyindede Mound, Boyalı and Fatmaören mounds complete the same Hittite…
Çorum Museum
Located in the heartland of the Hittite civilization, the Çorum Museum displays finds from Alacahöyük, Boğazköy-Hattuşa,…
Derekutuğun Mine Gallery
A copper-mining site near the village of Derekutuğun in Bayat, dated to the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC) and reg…
Early Hellenistic and Galatian Graves at Hattusa
A cemetery on Hattusa's northwest slope holds 17 known Early Hellenistic/Galatian graves (late 4th-3rd c. BC); in 2026 a…
Eskiyapar Mound
On the Alaca–Sungurlu road, Eskiyapar Mound shows uninterrupted settlement from the Early Bronze Age to the Byzantine pe…
Gölpınar Hittite Dam
Built in the 13th century BC near Alacahöyük, the Gölpınar Hittite Dam joined the ICID World Heritage Irrigation Structu…
Hattusa Büyükkale (Royal Palace)
The Hittite royal palace of Hattusa, on a rocky platform of about 250x140 m ringed by steep cliffs, known for its courty…
Hattusa Great Temple
The only temple in Hattusa's Lower City and the largest building complex of the Hittite capital, with two cult rooms, st…
Hattusa Lions' Gate and King's Gate
Hattusa's Lions' Gate (south-west) and King's Gate (south-east) share one plan; one is known for its lions, the other fo…
Hattusa Nişantaş, Sarıkale and Yenicekale
Three rock-top complexes in Hattusa's Upper City: Nişantaş with Suppiluliuma II's long inscription, and Sarıkale and Yen…
Hattusa's Green Stone
In the Great Temple precinct of Hattusa, a smooth green rock unlike its surroundings — its original function unknown, ye…
Hattuşaş
Located in Boğazkale, Hattuşa was the capital of the Hittite Empire, an ancient city famed for its walls, monumental gat…
Hüseyindede Old Hittite Cult Center
Hüseyindede hill near the town of Yörüklü in Sungurlu is an Old Hittite settlement and worship center known for its reli…
İskilip Rock Tomb
Roman-era rock tombs carved into natural stone at the foot of İskilip Castle; a monumental example notable for its colum…
Kalehisar Archaeological Site
Remains of the medieval town of Karahisar-ı Demirli near Mahmudiye village in Alaca: castle, madrasa, caravanserai and b…
Kaletepe Castle
Located southwest of Çorum's Kuşsaray and dating to the Hittite period, Kaletepe is a fortress settlement known for its …
Kapılıkaya Monumental Rock Tomb
A Hellenistic-period monumental tomb carved into the rock on the Çorum-Osmancık highway, administratively within Laçin d…
Kuşsaray Mound
In the Düvenci Plain, 15 km northeast of central Çorum, the walled Kuşsaray Mound preserves a three-layered settlement f…
Pazarlı Mound (Çikhasan)
About 22 km north of Alaca, Pazarlı Mound preserves a Chalcolithic layer beneath a 7th–6th century BC Phrygian level fam…
Resuloğlu Ancient Site
In the village of Resuloğlu in Uğurludağ district, an Early Bronze Age cemetery with over 200 graves, one of the few sys…
Şapinuva
Located in the Ortaköy district of Çorum, Şapinuva is an ancient city known for its cuneiform tablets and was a major mi…
The Archaeological Sites of Alaca
Beyond Alacahöyük's shadow: the Gölpınar dam, Kalınkaya quarry, the rock tombs of Geven and Camili villages, the Yatanka…
Yarıkkaya
About 2 km north of Yazılıkaya, Yarıkkaya is a five-layered hilltop settlement spanning the Late Chalcolithic to the Ear…
Yazılıkaya
About 2 km north-east of Hattusa, Yazılıkaya is an open-air sanctuary with Hittite reliefs of gods and goddesses in two …
Yerkapı and the Sphinx Gate
Yerkapı, the artificial rampart at Hattusa's southern end, with the Sphinx Gate and a 71-metre postern; painted hierogly…
Visitor guides
Alacahöyük Visitor Guide
A visitor guide to the Alacahöyük site and museum.
Hattusa Visitor Guide
Route, timing and tips for visiting the Hittite capital.
Šapinuwa Visitor Guide
A guide to visiting the Hittite city of Šapinuwa in Ortaköy.
Boğazköy Cuneiform Tablets
Hattusa's cuneiform tablets, counted at 25,000 to over 30,000: where they were found, their languages, contents and the …
Hattusa: UNESCO World Heritage and Memory of the World
Hattusa joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986; the Boğazköy tablets entered the Memory of the World Register in …
History of the Alacahöyük Excavations
From Alacahöyük's first publication in 1835 to the Republic's first national dig (1935), the 1983 pause and the Çınaroğl…
History of the Hattusa Excavations
From Hattusa's first publication in 1834 and the 1906 dig to the German Archaeological Institute campaigns since 1931: p…
Hittite Seals and Seal Impressions
The 3,268 bullae of the Nişantepe archive at Hattusa, hemispherical seals, and the seals found at Šapinuwa: Hittite glyp…
New Kadesh Treaty Tablet Fragment Found at Hattusa (2026)
A cuneiform tablet fragment from Büyükkale, Hattusa, was announced on 21 September 2026 as part of a copy of the Kadesh …
The Šapinuwa Excavations and the Ortaköy Archive
The Šapinuwa excavations at Ortaköy since 1990: directors, the Tepelerarası and Ağılönü areas, workshops and the second-…