Axe of the King's Gate of Ḫattuša
- Carlos Vermeersch
- Jul 12
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 13
A singular spike-butted four-lugged shaft-hole battle axe with a spatulate blade and crescentic cutting edge is depicted on the King’s Gate (Kral Kapısı) of Boğazköy/Ḫattuša, ancient capital of the Hittites. This is one of the three major monumental gates of the Upper City, located in its southeastern sector, and was likely constructed during the major expansion of Ḫattuša in the late 14th century BC, probably under Šuppiluliuma I (r. c. 1350–1322 BC) or shortly thereafter under Muwatalli II (r. c. 1295–1272/1282 BC). As for the relief itself, it is carved on the inner (city-facing) side of the northern jamb of the gate passage. The figure was originally interpreted as a king—presumably the builder of the gate. The prevailing view now identifies it as a deity on account of its horned helmet, commonly associated with divinity. It is usually linked to the mountain god Šarruma, personal protector of Tudḫaliya IV (r. c. 1245–1215 BC), although this identification does not necessarily imply that the gate itself dates to his reign.
No exact parallel for this axe has yet been identified. It features a cylindrical shaft-hole with concave sides and thickened edges. The butt is equipped with four gradually narrowing blunt spikes, which may have served both to improve balance relative to the blade and to reinforce the shaft-hole, though they may also have functioned as piercing elements. Two of the spikes splay out leaving the central two spikes in an axial direction. The blade and spikes are integrated in such a way that the upper and lower portions form blunt lugs providing additional support for the wooden shaft. Lugged axes first appear in the Levant around the mid-2nd millennium BC. The blade itself has concave sides, a thickened midsection, and reinforced edges, widening toward a convex cutting edge whose truncated toe and heel dramatically curve backwards by nearly 180°, almost folding back on the blade.
Typologically, the axe shows superficial similarities to unsharpened ritual axes from the Luristan Plateau, corresponding to Type 33 in Calmeyer’s classification, Type D in Deshayes’ system (late 2nd to early 1st millennium BC), and Type 20 in Maxwell-Hyslop’s typology. These axes have slightly convex upper sides and deeply concave lower sides, widening toward a diagonal cutting edge, and feature four gradually tapering blunt butt spikes of circular section, joined to one another at their thickest point. One such axe has been found in Anatolia (Inv. Nr. 79/16). The spatulate blade somewhat resembles those of several examples reportedly from Susa (BM inv. 134913) and Tepe Giyan (BM inv. 128617), which correspond to Type 11 in Maxwell-Hyslop’s typology, and are dated to the 19th–18th century BC, but especially crescentic Transcaucasian type ‘Amazonen’ axe blades dated to 1400–700 BC (e.g. BM inv. 138199), of which many examples have been recovered in Armenia and Georgia. The distinctive backward-curving toe and heel of the axe head recall the recurved elements seen on many Caucasian ‘Lochnadeln’. The backward-curving toe and heel of the axe head also have close parallels in later Nordic Bronze Age axes of around 800 BC, notably the Galstad axe (GAM 47999) and the Kallerup axe. These are exceptionally thin bronze cult axes cast around clay cores, examples of which have been recovered in Sweden and Denmark. Axes of comparable form are likewise represented in Bronze Age rock carvings in Sweden and Denmark, and in the hands of a pair of bronze figurines discovered in Denmark. The socket of the King’s Gate axe has thickened, concave edges that form lugs at both the front and back of its upper and lower openings. Comparable socket forms occur among Type 11A, Type 12A, and Type 15 axes in Maxwell-Hyslop’s typology. The butt spikes on the King’s Gate axe seem related to those of a group of axes of which examples have been found in Anatolia and the Levant, for example the Hittite ceremonial stone cult axe-head from Ortaköy/Šapinuwa, now in the Çorum Archaeological Museum, a bronze axe head from Luristan (LUR-034) dated to 1000–650 BC, and a bronze axe head from Ras Šamra/Ugarit (Louvre inv. AO 19093) dated to 1150–1150 BC, both featuring three butt spikes encircling the socket; in the former case, these spikes are thick and splayed, whereas in the latter they are flat and parallel. Perhaps more similar butt spikes appear on Type 17 axes in Maxwell-Hyslop’s topology, with strong butt spikes intended for use, and Type 19, such as the celebrated axe from Bēṯ Šəʾān/Baysān. Type 19 axes have splayed blades that curve upward from the socket before turning downward at the distal end, along with pointed spikes behind the socket and a front socket edge that extends down the shaft to form a lug. An axe with five, splaying butt spikes exhibited in the Museo de Armería de Álava, reportedly Hittite, resembles Type 19 but is distinguished by its bilateral symmetry, straight splayed blade, and lugs that project both upward and downward along the shaft. These features bring it closer to the King’s Gate axe. The butt spikes of the King’s Gate axe also bear close resemblance to those of the copper-based three-spiked shaft-hole battle axe from Tell Atchana/Alalaḫ (AT1889), whose spikes similarly splay out, and whose blade has been reduced to a hammer-like knob, making the spikes—rather than a flat axe blade—the functional striking element of the weapon. This, in turn, lends weight to the interpretation that the spikes of the axe on the relief of the King’s Gate likewise served a martial purpose.
By contrast, fenestrated axes do not appear to have become widespread in Anatolia. These date to the earlier part of the Middle Bronze Age in Syria and the Levant, with contemporary attestations in sites in Anatolia and the Egyptian Delta that were in contact with these regions. As for in Anatolia, one attestation consists of a mould for duckbill axes discovered at Kültepe/Kaneš and has been interpreted as evidence of limited small-scale production and regional mercantile activity. Another rare Anatolian occurrence is the axe recovered from the Sakçegözü hoard, possibly a transitional form between crescentic and fenestrated types, tentatively dated to the early Middle Bronze Age.
Sources
Maxwell-Hyslop, Rachel. 1949. Western Asiatic Shaft-Hole Axes. Iraq 11(1): 90–129.
Comments