The remains were found at the Uşaklı Höyük archaeological site — and they may hold clues about Hittite burial customs.
Università di PisaSeven infant remains were unearthed at the Uşaklı Höyük archaeological site in Turkey.
The remains of at least seven infant children were discovered during the latest archaeological campaign at Uşaklı Höyük in Turkey.
The infant remains, found near a mysterious Hittite structure, were not consistent with conventional burial practices, potentially providing clues about the ritualistic customs of the Hittite people. Interestingly, the ancient remains were buried alongside ash, animal bones, and pieces of ceramics, in deposits closely linked to the nearby Hittite structure.
The enigmatic feature, known only as the “Circular Structure,” dates to the second millennium B.C.E., but its exact purpose is still unknown. Archaeologists believe further study of the infant remains may reveal more about the site, including why the children were buried in seemingly intentional deposits that curiously had no clear burial patterns.
The Remains Uncovered At The Uşaklı Höyük Site
Università di PisaArchaeologists dig at the Uşaklı Höyük site, where the ancient children’s remains were found.
The 2025 excavations of the Uşaklı Höyük site expanded the work done in earlier years to unearth the previously identified Circular Structure, according to Università di Pisa, the university that helped organize the recent dig. The archaeologists focused on uncovering new areas of the structure, which dates from the second millennium B.C.E., during Hittite occupation.
While archaeologists found evidence of the Circular Structure being maintained over time, the most notable discovery was the infant human remains at the site. A tooth belonging to an infant was unearthed from the soil covering up one of the Circular Structure’s pavements.
But that wasn’t all. Archaeologists have also found a nearly complete infant skeleton, along with the remains of five other babies. Also uncovered near the remains were animal bones, ash, and ceramic fragments.
“These are not pit graves, but intentional deposits,” Anacleto D’Agostino, the co-director of the archaeological project, explained, according to La Brújula Verde. “The context suggests a differentiated treatment of children in the Hittite world, something not detailed in written sources.”
It wasn’t rare for children to be buried differently from adults in ancient societies in the Near East. It varied from culture to culture, but deceased children typically were not buried in cemeteries. Sometimes, their remains would be kept in homes or culturally significant locations.
Archaeologists believe it is possible that the Circular Structure was once an important ritual space, perhaps one where very young children were buried in a unique manner after suffering tragically early deaths.
More archaeological evidence is needed to confirm this theory. Nonetheless, there is likely a strong connection between the Circular Structure and the ancient remains of the children.
The New Finds Could Support The Theory That Uşaklı Höyük Is The Lost City Of Zippalanda
Università di PisaArchaeologists work to uncover a floor at Uşaklı Höyük, which is covered in ash.
The Uşaklı Höyük site has become crucial in understanding the Hittites, an Indo-European people who arrived in Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and had become a dominant power by 1340 B.C.E. Their empire is believed to have fallen around 1193 B.C.E., possibly due to large-scale migrations in their region. They left behind numerous cuneiform tablets, but there is still much that archaeologists don’t know about them.
These texts are how archaeologists became aware of the great ancient city of Zippalanda, the cult center of the Hittites’ powerful Storm God. While the exact location of this city has never been definitively identified, it has long been speculated that Uşaklı Höyük could be Zippalanda.
The data from this latest dig campaign might strengthen this hypothesis, especially if it turns out that the infants were buried at an ancient religious site. Archaeologists believe the site could’ve once held a sanctuary devoted to the Storm God. Though it’s not confirmed yet that the site is the lost ancient city of Zippalanda, the newly discovered remains could still deepen archaeologists’ knowledge of the Hittite people.
Though the Hittites left many written sources behind, they never left any clear clues about their customs when burying very young children. So the remains could hold clues about the Hittites’ burial traditions when infants died. Further research may also reveal more biological information on the Hittites that inhabited the site. Researchers plan to begin further studying the DNA and plant remains at the site next year.
“Every bone, every seed, brings us closer to the daily lives of those who inhabited this place,” D’Agostino said.
Next, discover the long-lost language that archaeologists found on a Hittite cuneiform tablet. Then, learn about the ancient Hittite warning found on a royal seal.
