Yalburt Hittite Pool

This monument is located in a summer meadow named Yalburt about 23 km northwest of the town of Ilgın in the province of Konya. The site was discovered in 1970 during a utility project when a bulldozer was cleaning a hillside. Between 1970 and 1975, the site was excavated, and the structure was restored to its current condition by Raci Temizer, the director of the Anatolian Civilizations Museum.

The 13 by 8 meters rectangular-shaped structure was originally a pool. It no longer has water, since the waters of feeding springs have been diverted to nearby villages. On the top row of its walls, there is a line of 20 limestone blocks with a Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription on their inward-facing sides. They surround the south, west, and north sides of the pool. It is not clear whether the fourth, eastern side ever had similar blocks. The aedicula of King Tudhaliya IV with its winged sun is clearly visible in the first block of the script. Most of the blocks were found reused in secondary context in later era structures around the vicinity of the pool. Restored positions of the blocks do seem to be entirely correct, and several blocks are apparently missing as well. As has been shown by Poetto and Hawkins, blocks 1, 16, and 10 are quite likely to be the first three blocks of the inscription, but nothing is certain for the rest. The inscription introduces Tudhaliya (IV) and describes his campaign. The monument was possibly a pool or reservoir similar to other water monuments of the Hittites, such as Eflatunpınar.

As of August 2019, the monument is in deplorable condition. The pool area is filled with even more debris; the northern wall has been buried below dirt; block 6 has been broken into pieces; previously fallen blocks 18 and 19 are no longer visible, hopefully only buried below the debris (see the last row of pictures below). It is hoped that the site will come under the protection of authorities with restoration and landscaping, perhaps also the replacement of inscribed blocks with replicas before they suffer further damage.


Click on the pictures for larger images.