BOĞAZKÖY 4, A New Reading and Interpretation

Abstract

An Imperial Period graffiti on a sphinx at the Sphinx Gate of Hattusa was recently reevaluated by M. Alparslan (Alparslan apud Schachner 2013: 174 ff. and see its bibliography for the previous editions). I would like to add further comments and a different reading. An unknown king’s name (who would have been also a scribe) on a monument located in the very heart of the Hittite Kingdom is a problematic remark. A different interpretation in the light of the arrangement of the signs can be proposed.