04 · DISCOVERY · MULTILINGUALISM

The Voice of Kalašma

An unknown language hidden within a ritual

A tablet written in Hittite includes a ritual in another language, now called Kalasmaic.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of An unknown language hidden within a ritual, Hattusa; reference to Kalašma, northwest of the Hittite sphere, 13th century BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

A tablet from the 13th century BCE is written in Hittite but introduces a recitation in a previously unknown Indo-European language, termed Kalasmaic after the region of Kalašma. The find expands the linguistic mosaic of Anatolia.

The probable scene is not a modern simultaneous translation: cult specialists could copy foreign formulae because incorporating local traditions helped the kingdom relate to diverse territories.

The tablet found in Boğazköy introduces in Hittite a recitation ‘in the language of Kalašma’ and then shifts to a previously unknown Anatolian language. The find documents that the ritual could preserve regional voices within an imperial scribal format.

The passage remains largely incomprehensible and does not reveal who recited it nor how many people spoke Kalasmaic. A responsible scene shows the linguistic shift without inventing translation, ethnic costume or a homogeneous community.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: the tablet and the language shift were identified by the Boğazköy project. Interpretation and caution: we do not know who pronounced the recitation, how many speakers Kalasmaic had or what degree of political control its inclusion implied.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 13th century BC c.
Location: Hattusa; reference to Kalašma, northwest of the Hittite sphere
Material: Cuneiform clay tablet
Context: Hittite ritual text with passage in another Anatolian language
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Date: 13th century BC c.
Location: Hattusa; reference to Kalašma, northwest of the Hittite sphere
Support: Cuneiform clay tablet
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

From discovery to a preliminary reading

The 2024 publication by Rieken, Yakubovich and Schwemer specifies that the lower half of a column tablet found near Ambarlıkaya was preserved. The combined analysis of several methods allowed progress beyond the initial announcement: the language appears to belong to the Luwian subgroup of the Anatolian languages, but does not identify with Luwian proper. Understanding of the passage remains preliminary. This distinction avoids turning a linguistic affinity into identity of language, people or homogeneous political community.

Research · Rieken, Yakubovich and Schwemer · Eine neue Sprache im Hethiterreich (2024)Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Reference images and provenance

No verifiable entrance photograph is preserved for this representation. You may consult its documentation, but we would not present its face as an exact reconstruction.

Additional visual documentation

A cited publication does not establish which image was used to create the character.

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Hattusa and Yazılıkaya · TurkeyLandscape marker of the Hittite capital.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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