Grain Silo at the Postern Wall

Plan of the Silo Complex - longer than a soccer field (118 m!)

Behind the Postern Wall in the Lower City, half way up the slope between Kızlar Kaya and Büyükkale, a large subterranean silo-complex dating to the Old Hittite Period was partially unearthed. It had been built together with the Postern Wall during the 16th century BC at the latest. It is about 118 m long, and its width varies according to the terrain between 30 an 40 m. It contains two rows of 16 chambers each. These chambers are 6 m wide and 13-16 m long and are furnished with a rough pavement of limestones. The mudbrick walls are 1.5 m thick; their original height is estimated between 3.5 and 4.5 m. On the outside, the whole complex is packed with layers of loam and clay in order to ensure air- and watertightness.

Twelve chambers have been destroyed by fire. The mudbrick walls are burnt red due to their high content of wooden beams etc. In the chambers, large amounts of charred grain are preserved - the soundings were cut through layers of pure grain up to 1.2 m thick. Several hundred tons of charred grain still lie buried here, probably the largest find of its kind in the Ancient Near East. According to the botanical analysis most of the grain is barley. But at least one of the chambers was filled with einkorn wheat.
Also the dimension of this silo - longer than a soccer field - is rather unusual. According to the height to which the chambers were filled, between 7,000 and 9,000 m³ of grain could be stored. This amount matches the annual need of 20,000-30,000 people, and it seems clear that this was not only the supply for the city of Hattusha - here a part of the state treasure and the basis of power of the Great King was stored. The method of airtight storage, which was also applied for the silos on Büyükkaya, allowed permanent storage for many years, if the chambers were kept close. Thus the king could rely on a large food supply and act accordingly.

For details see: Forschungsbericht Silokomplex