Maşat Höyük in the Hittite period: A reassessment study from an archaeological perspective

Located to the southwest of the city centre of Tokat, Maşat Höyük became famous when a tablet from the Hittite Period was found on the surface and published. The first excavation was done in 1945 by a committee led by Ekrem Akurgal to find the archive to which this tablet belonged. After a very long break, excavations were continued between 1973 and 1984 headed by Tahsin Özgüç. Thanks to the written documents, it was understood that in the second millennium BC this was a city named Tapigga. The most important finds are a Hittite palace dating to the 15th century BC and its archive. This study aims to provide a detailed breakdown of the unpublished pottery and small finds of Maşat Höyük belonging to the Old Assyrian Colony Period and Hittite Period, which are being curated by the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilisations and Tokat Archaeological Museum, to re-evaluate the architectural ruins and to reconstruct the mound layering and dating in the light of current information. Incorporating the data provided by published finds, it will be possible to question the location of Maşat Höyük in the Hittite core Region, in which the Central Black Sea Region is also located. This study aims to clarify the datings of the currently undateable subphases as well as those of the Hittite layers V and IV, and to propose a new layering model for the mound. Taking into consideration the geographical location of the mound and the tablets, Maşat Höyük was argued to be an important border town in the region between the Kashkans and the Hittite State. However, the town wall that would be expected in a border town was not found in the mound. Therefore, questioning the location of the mound is also among the objectives of the study.