Cult inventory

(CTH 526.36)

Textual tradition

Basis of the edition

The present edition is based on the photographs available at the Mainzer Photoarchiv of the Hethitologie Portal Mainz, as well as the available hand-copies and relevant secondary literature up to 2019. When the original manuscripts have been collated, this is noted in the commentary. The unpublished fragment Bo 4094 is not included in the transliteration; it will be published by Hasan Peker.

Commentary

Previous editions: Carter 1962: 116-22 (KUB 7.24), Hazenbos 2003: 26-30 (KUB 7.24 + KUB 58.29).

Collated (KUB 58.29, March 2020). Fragments of a two-columned tablet, fine-grained clay, now of a reddish color. Max preserved thickness (KUB 58.29) 30 mm.

The colophon of this two-columned tablet written in a non-cursive script (yet with many corrections) states the the text consists of the inventory of the divine mountains Malimaliya and Ḫaparḫuna as well as of the gods of the towns of Takkupša and Ḫawalkina (ms. A1 iv 8′-9′). The geographical setting of the inventory is thus in the area of Ḫakmiš or Nerik (see Barjamovic 2011: 269 with fn. 1047 and Corti 2017: 223; cf. KBo 14.42 6′). The recent identification of the indirect join with Bo 4094 by C. Corti improves the reconstruction of the text; on the left edge of the fragment a verbal form is partially preserved, which can be restored as [ḫan]dait “he (the king?) arranged” or [kar]tait “he cut” (for the latter cf. the crux in KUB 25.23+ l. e. 5, discussed in Cammarosano 2018: 380 with literature).

As usual, the text is arranged in sections and paragraphs, and treats cult images, festivals and offerings. Noteworthy are the royal interventions, with an explicit mention of king Tudḫaliya (ms. A1 i 2), and the descriptions of cult images. Particularly interesting is the report on the construction of two cult images of mount Malimaliya, namely an anthropomorphic statuette to be kept in the shrine of mount Kukumuša and a stone stela to be brought on a rocky outcrop (paššu-) in the town of Taḫniwara (ms. A1 i 1-4, for the interpretation see the discussion in Cammarosano 2018: 57 with literature). The cult image of mount Ḫaparḫuna, probably a composite mace, is kept in the shrine of mount Kukumuša (ms. A3 i 4′-7′) as well. The kind of cult image is different than for mount Malimaliya, but in this case we do not know whether the mace was a preexisting image or a newly constructed one. Other interesting descriptions of cult mages are found in column iv, with information on the location of cult stelae (ms. A1 iv 6′: in the wood). The treated festivals are, as usual, the seasonal festivals of autumn and spring.

Palaeography and orthography: Regular, non-cursive and tiny script (size 2 mm). Note that line i 10 is right-justified, an unusual feature among cult inventories. Remarkable difference in the appearance of the script on the rev. in respect to the obv., apparently due to the fact that the clay was already quite dry. Older LI (e.g. A1 i 1-2), late QA (A1 iv 4′, 8′). Note the variance in the spellings, e.g. A-NA and ANA, ḫamešḫa- and Ú.BAR8, ḪUR.SAGḫa-pár-ḫu-na-aš and KURḫa-pa-ar!-ḫu-na-aš.

A1 i 1-4: For the interpretation of this passage see Cammarosano 2018: 57 with literature.

A2 i 8′: For the “rejoicing” formula see Cammarosano 2014: 150, add this occurrence to the list. The first signs of this line are badly damaged; while DINGIR seems secure, the following one or two signs are uncertain. A reading DINGIR-LUM/MEŠ-(ma-aš)-kán is expected, but the available space is too short for accommodate this.

A2 i 13′: For the reading of the DN see already van Gessel 1998: 99 (overlooked in Hazenbos 2003: 27).

A3 iv 7′: The tentative reading KIRI6 has been kindly suggested by J. Burgin (pers. comm.).

A1 iv 5′: The complement NI appended to Ú.BAR8 (=ḫamešḫant-) is unclear to me.

A3 l. e. 1: For the interpretation of this line see the introduction.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Michele Cammarosano | Produced as part of the research project Critical edition, digital publication, and systematic analysis of the Hittite cult-inventories (CTH 501-530), funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – project number 298302760, 2016–2020.