This fragment with bird oracles is notable for mentioning a thunder strike recorded during the flight observation (obv. II 7). However, the exact circumstances of this record are unclear due to the fragmentary state of the passage (compare our translation and Sakuma Y. 2009b, II, 614, discussed in note 1 to the translation).

It is possible that the thunder struck during the observation of a bird’s flight, as in our translation. Alternatively, the thunder might be described in a specific position or direction within the observation field, using the standard formulary of bird flights: “[…] it thundered in the back, taru(yali)an.” Sakuma interpreted the adverb EGIR-pa in a temporal sense as “[…] it thundered again taru(yali)an,” which is also plausible (see Sakuma Y. 2009b, II, 614).

Due to the fragmentary state of the text, our translation follows the tablet lines, though the original text likely contained several additional sentences.

• D. Groddek, DBH 47, 2015: 90f.
• Y. Sakuma, Diss., 2009: II 613-615

Handcopy: Ch. Rüster (KBo 46, III n. 1, Otten H. et al. 2004a).

Edition: Sakuma Y. 2009b, II 613-615.

Transliteration: Groddek D. 2015a, 90-91.

MS (mh.); diagnostic signs: E, IT, (TE), TAR.

Several features of the augural formulation and terminology likely depend on the early date of the fragment. Notably, pariyawan is fully spelled out and not abbreviated, and the abbreviations taru. and taru.an appear without -li₁₂-, as does GUN-an (instead of GUN-li₁₂-an, the standard in later texts). The same applies to the atypical sentences discussed infra. Similar non-standard content appears comparatively more frequently in early (Middle Script/MS) reports.

The interpretation of thunder (keraunoscopy) is well-attested in ancient Mesopotamia. In particular, the interpretation of metereological phenomena such as thunder, lightning, winds, rainbows, and clouds occupy the content of tablets 37-49 of the series Enūma Anu Enlil, with tablets 44-46 and 47 dedicated respectively to thunder and lightning). A recent study and edition of these omina can be found in Gehlken E. 2012a.

However, in Hittite Anatolia, there are no known oracle reports for this type of divination, suggesting that the registration of thunder in this fragment may reflect an impromptu observation, rather than an event with formal oracular value. Nonetheless, it appears that the occurrence was noteworthy to the augur; it is possible that the bird observer considered this event relevant for interpreting the birds’ flight, perhaps with the implication that thunder could influence or impact the birds’ flight, a possibility that needed to be accounted for in an accurate interpretation.

Unique to the Hittite kingdom within the broader Ancient Near East, instead, was the celebration of specific festivals dedicated to thunder and thunderstorms (EZEN₄ tetḫešnaš ‘festival of thunder’, collected under CTH 631). These rites were performed on the occasion of violent storms to appease the anger of the Storm god (on these festivals, see especially Neu E. 1970a, Barsacchi F.G. 2017a).