Atolian ritual assemblages at alalakh: Hittite Imperial presence in the late 14th century bc

This thesis focuses on a North-Central Anatolian vessel type known as the "truncated cups", and sometimes "votive cups", "offering bowls" or "miniature bowls" that appear at the site of Tell Atchana (Alalakh) in Hatay, Amuq Valley in the late 14th century BC (Atchana Periods 2 and 1) along with other small, ritually associated vessels such as pointed juglets and miniature model plates. The truncated cups occur in contexts from Late Bronze age Hittite sites including Hattuša, Kuşaklı, Alacahöyük and Korucutepe. They are found in both cult and domestic contexts, sometimes as votive deposits. Twenty-six truncated cups in four sub-types were recovered at Atchana. Many of them come from in the areas excavated around the Ištar Temple. These vessels, though rare overall, have the potential to be an important evidence of the Hittite presence and political control of the Amuq region in the later 14th century BC. They may also be the signs of the process of cultural hybridization that followed, where Anatolian cultural elements were inserted into the political and religious life of the city. Keywords: Tell Atchana, Alalakh, Amuq Valley, Turkey, Syria, Hittite, Late Bronze II, North-Central Anatolian, truncated cups, votive cups, offering bowls, miniature bowls, miniature, votive, cult, pottery, archeology