Sarissa (Kuşaklı Höyük)
Šarišša · Sarissa · Kushakli · Kuşaklı
Hittite Old to Empire·Hittite (upper Kızılırmak frontier)·🇹🇷 Sivas Province, Altınyayla district – upper Kızılırmak headwaters, Turkey
About
About Sarissa (Kuşaklı Höyük)
Highest Hittite frontier city (c.1600–1200 BCE) on 1650 m steppe ridge, holy city of Weather God, planned on grid with dam. Andreas Müller-Karpe (Marburg) excavations (1995–2004) revealed 2.5 km city wall, North Terrace Temple, granary, and dam-reservoir 530×130 m — highest Hittite dam proving highland hydraulic engineering. Tablet fragment mentions Šarišša — confirm Sarissa. Acropolis temples oriented to Mt. Ararat horizon and solstice. Abandoned at Bronze collapse, never reoccupied — pristine Hittite plan.
Why it mattersOnly pristine Hittite planned frontier city; highest Hittite dam — hydraulic adaption; Weather God cult.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why site at 1650 m harsh steppe — oracle site selection?
- 02Acropolis alignment — astronomical vs Mt. Erciyes sighting
Theories
- 01Sarissa as Hittite 'hydraulic frontier' — dam fed 1000-inhabitant granary town
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1600 BCE Old Hittite foundation; monumental 1500–1200 BCE
- Period
- Hittite Old to Empire
- Culture
- Hittite (upper Kızılırmak frontier)
- Builders
- Hittite kings (Hattusili I frontier policy)
- Purpose
- Frontier religious and granary city against Hurrians/Mitanni then Kaska
- Abandoned
- c.1180 BCE Bronze collapse, unburnt but deserted
- Rediscovered
- 1900 Winckler notes sherds; 1995 Müller-Karpe systematic
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1995
DAI Marburg surface and geomagnetic mapping
c.1500 BCE
City wall and dam built
2004
Acropolis temple with cult inventory
On the ground
Structures & features
39.3100° N · 36.9100° E · 1630 m · 3 mapped features
Acropolis North Terrace Temple
temple50×30 m temple with cult storerooms
39.3101° N · 36.9101° ECity wall (south gate)
wall2.5 km circuit with bastioned south gate
39.3099° N · 36.9099° EDam and reservoir (southeast)
dam530 m long Hittite dam 8 m high
39.3100° N · 36.9100° E