This fragment with bird oracles includes references to the places where the oracles were performed, a type of content primarily found in oracle reports of early date (i.e., Early New Kingdom). The surviving portion of the tablet includes the name of a town, Taranzašša (hapax), and a mountain, Ḫarrana. This mountain name is attested in other texts as both a mountain and a town name, though its spelling is more frequently ḫa-ra-na(-). If this is the same place name, it can be located in the core of the Hittite kingdom (“Nicht weit entfernt von Zipalanta”; RGTC 6, 84).

The oracle reports include some atypical content. Aside from the geographical references, there is information about various actions performed by the augurs during the flight observation: “[we] conjured ...” (kolon 11); “we returned/replaced a ... vessel” (k. 13). Unfortunately, the fragment’s poor condition prevents a reconstruction of the full sequence of actions, and a full understanding of their relation with the oracular activity.

As is the case in other early texts, a number of technical terms appear in their unabbreviated form. Particularly interesting is the presence of several bird names attested only in this text (see Linguistic Characteristics).

For other reports with observations carried out over multiple days, of both early and late date, see the bird oracle reports in CTH 573.14, –.64, –.76, CTH 564, Or. 90/355 (unpublished) and the letters CTH 581.21, –.32.

• P. Neve, Oberstadt, 1999: 181
• Y. Sakuma, Diss., 2009: II 610-612

Handcopy: H. Otten (KBo 32, Otten H. – Rüster C. 1990a).

Edition: Sakuma Y. 2009b, II, 610-612.

This tablet was most likely single-columned. The fragment comes from a central portion of the tablet, spanning nearly the entire column in its better-preserved section.

The archaeological context of this document is worth mentioning. It does not belong to the major collections of the Lower Town (e.g. Büyükkale or Temple I) but rather to the more sporadic tablet finds from the Temples of the Upper Town, where a relatively high number of early tablets were retrieved. This fragment, in particular, was discovered within a collection of around eighty clay tablets from Temple XVI, excavated between 1980 and 1986 (see Neve P. 1999a, 70–72 for the description of the temple and the main finds; ibid. 181 for the finds’ catalogue). This location famously yielded several fragments of the bilingual Hurro-Hittite ‘Song of Release’ (CTH 789). A sealed bulla of Arnuwanda I was also found in the vicinity.

MS (mh.); diagnostic signs: AK, AL, ḪAR, LI, TAR.

“pre-13th c.” according to Otten and Rüster (KBo 32, VI). For an early date see also Hout Th.P.J. van den 2001c, 423. Several early tablets were retrieved in the same tablet collection (Temple XVI; see Neve P. 1999a, 70-72).

One can note the spelling BE-LI-NI “our lord”, with standard LI, typically spelled BE-LÍ-NI.

Bird names which appear only in this text are ḪAR.ḪAR (kolon 7), if this is the correct reading of this form, and ḫaššiḫarši- (k. 10). The bird name ḫuwaranni- (k. 9, 12, 15) is very rare, attested elsewhere only in KUB 50.1 (CTH 573.54, MS), obv. II 4´ ([ḫu]waranni). A similar name, ḫuranni-, possibly equivalent, is found only in HKM 47 (CTH 581.32, MS) (obv. 20, 28, 32). It is unclear whether the fragmentary form arwain-[…] (k. 20) is also a bird name, as the context is insufficient.

Among the technical terms which appear in this text in their full form, unabbreviated, we find taruyal(l)i-, ašš[uwaz], pariyawan, zilawan.