Kuttamuwa Runestone From Zincirli (Sam'al) 850 BCE

For translation methodology see: How to Translate Alphabetic Akkadian Texts

The scene shows a seated life priest holding a bowl of something and shaking pollen from a pine cone. He is presiding over a roast offering mentioned in the text which is also claiming that these offerings have been ineffective due to the earth being cursed by the astrological powers.
Photo from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaziantep_Archaeology_museum_Kuttamuwa_stele_4270.jpg

So Called Kuttamuwa Runestone from Zincirli (Sam'al)

(January 4, 2024) This stone is now at the Turkish Gaziantep Archaeology museum. It was found in Sam'al, in southeastern Turkey, in 2008, by the Neubauer Expedition of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. It is blaming the astrological for the 850 BCE Elijah drought just like the Kilamuwa Runestone.

This 800-pound stele was found during a proper archaeological excavation and it was  was found in a house or temple  in a room surrounded by remnants of food offerings and fragments of stone bowls similar to those depicted on it. No name of Kuttamuwa exists in the text. Yet, that claimed word does include the letters for the goddess Kate/Hekate. 

The letter style is like the Jerusalem Stone and Kilamuwa Text dating to about the same time. The Jerusalem stone's find location is uncertain but it was assumed to have been written around Jerusalem. Hence, this letter style likely is the 850 BCE Non-Phoenician Levant style which support the life powers as opposed to the motion powers.

It reads:

  1. Su is stripping  -  Kate/Hekate's waters.  Life-priests can judge the culling.  The killing is catching-the-eye of the Pruner (Ayu)  -  [words]  can be gated. 
  2. Hu is in pain.  -  The Originator (Alu) is being killed  -  by the weaving of sky-shell with Su's astrological-powers   -  Alu's fertility-fluids are being redirected.  Hu is being isolated by the astrology-magic of Su.
  3. The astrological-empowerment  -  of rain  -  activity is being thrown-away.  -  Lacking are motivations (motion-powers) for life-manifestations  -  Inquire about the openings for the water-bringer (Hu/Ba'al).  -  Fate-cursed are the life-constrainers (eagle-vultures)  -  causing the lack in the coastal-region (sky-shell, life network).
  4. The upper-regions are being culled.  Not being pruned are the life-constrainers (eagle-vultures).  -  The lack of activity (motion powers) is enabling  -  the fate-cursing of the life-constrainers.  -  The lack of motivation is manifesting  -  the dryness of the revelations (of life forms). 
  5. Are not life-emanations lacking?  -  The lack is sowing division.  -  Fate-cursed are the life-constrainers.  -  The lack is revealing the nourishing of the blockages   -  Emanations  are not  -  being made good from the roast-offerings  -  for rain.
  6. Fate-curses from astrology-magic  -  are supported.  -  The support  -  is not making good the motion-powers.
  7. The support of nourishments is not being revealed.  That activity  is being fate-cursed  by  Eyu (new unknown deity) -  who lacks nothing.
  8. Make-distant the astrological-powers.  -  Are not revelations of fertility-fluids  -  being made-stormy by the fate-curses for the threads of Hu's  -  support
  9. Respect is lacking  -  reducing the fertility-fluids.  -  The same chaos  -  is being activated by that.
  10. Are not the storm-powers being chaotic from lacking redirection. Support is not from the fate-curses.
  11. Falseness  -  is being made-good by nourishing  blockages.
  12. Fate-curses are being activated by frustration
  13. Lack is from making scarce the life-threads

References

J. David Schloen and Amir S. Fink (Nov. 2009) New Excavations at Zincirli Höyük in Turkey (Ancient Samʾal) and the Discovery of an Inscribed Mortuary Stele.. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. No. 356, pp. 1-13 (13 pages). Published By: The University of Chicago Press. 

The photo used by previous translator Dennis Pardee (2009). He misidentified many letters. He claimed this text was mostly in a Hebrew variant called Aramaic. That is completely wrong as this is an Alphabetic Akkadian text.

Pardee, D (2009) A New Aramaic Inscription from Zincirli, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , 356 (2009), 51–71. Online at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25609347

Previous Translation Attempted in 2009

The translator, Dennis Pardee, claimed the text was an Aramaic-Phoenician script and written in a unique dialect of Aramaic called Samʹalian. By claiming it was a unique dialect with no other examples he was able to invent a translation which is:

  1. I am KTMW, servant of Panamuwa, who commissioned for myself (this) stele  while 
  2. still living. I placed it in my eternal chamber(?) (bsyr/dʹ lmy) and estab-lished a feast (at) 
  3. this chamber(?) ( syr/d): a bull for Hadad QR/DPD/RL, a ram for NGD/R 
  4. Ṣ  WD/RN, a ram for Šamš, a ram for Hadad of the Vineyards, 
  5. a ram for Kubaba, and a ram for my ‘soul’ (lnbšy) that (will be) in this stele. 
  6. Henceforth, whoever of my sons or 
  7. of the sons of anybody (else) should come into possession of 
  8. this chamber(!?) (nsyr/d), let him take from 
  9. the best (produce) of this vine(yard) (as) a (presentation?)-offering 
  10. (year by year. He is also to perform the 
  11. slaughter (prescribed above) in (proximity to) my ‘soul’ 
  12.  and is to apportion 
  13. for me a leg-cut.

References

Pardee, D (2009) A New Aramaic Inscription from Zincirli, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , 356 (2009), 51–71. Online at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25609347

Map showing find spot of Zincirli Amulet

The Find Site of Sam'al (Zincirli)

(December 9, 2023)   The Assyrian's (c. 700 BC) called this site Sam'al which probably derives from the Akkadian word meaning "Dehydration is Lacking." from  Ṣamā’u.Lu based on this city's location in the Syrian valley. The Syrian valley east of the Nur Mountains is unique in that it does not have a central navigable river. It is fertile land crisscrossed by small streams which eventually empty into the Orontes river to the south in Lebanon.

The Ceyhan river's economic region is split by the Amanu's Mountians which today are called the Nur Mountains. One of the two main passes through the mountains is located just west of Zincirli (Ancient Sam'al). The other if further south across from the coastal city of Iskenderunand is called the Belen Pass.

The site of Sam'al was occupied in the Early Bronze Age III/IV (c. 2700–2100 BC), and Middle Bronze Age II (c. 2000-1550 BC) when it was sacked, probably by Hittite king Hattusili I. 

The site covers an area of about 40 hectares. It was visited by archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey in 1882. In 1883 three German travelers collected and took photographs there. It was excavated in 1888, 1890, 1891, 1894 and 1902 during expeditions led by Felix von Luschan and Robert Koldewey. Each of the expeditions was supported by the German Orient Committee, except for the fourth (1894), which was financed with monies from the Rudolf-Virchow-Stiftung and private donors. 

They found a walled heavily fortified teardrop-shaped citadel accessed by the outer citadel gate, which was surrounded by the as yet unexcavated town and a further enormous 2.5 kilometer long double fortification wall with three gates (most notably the southern city gate) and 100 bastions. Finds from the excavations are held in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin and the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. The Louvre holds a carved orthostat and two sphinx protomes and some minor sculptures are held at museums in Adana and Gaziantep. During the 1902 excavation at Zincirli Höyük the Kilamuwa Stela (Zincirli 65) was found.

In August 2006, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago together with the Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies of the University of Tübingen began a new long-term excavation project at the site of Zincirli under the directorship of David Schloen and Virginia Herrmann. Eleven seasons of excavation were conducted ending in 2017. Finds included the Kuttamuwa stele found in 2008.

The German excavations on the citadel recovered large numbers of relief-carved orthostats, along with inscriptions in Aramaic, Phoenician, and Akkadian. These are on exhibit in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, and Istanbul. Also found was the notable Victory stele of Neo-Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon celebrating his victory over Egyptian pharaoh Taharqa in 671 BC.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%CA%BEal

Lake bottom Core sample data from the Sea of Galilee showing the droughts
Lake bottom Core sample data from the Sea of Galilee. In historical times it shows two major droughts with several minor ones. Minor droughts are indicated anytime the curves turn downward. 
The 50 year long Great Drought of 1180 to 1140 BCE (Iron Age 1 period) is what ended the Bronze Age and the 5-year long Elijah drought of 845-840 BCE. The yellow gives the tree pollen level while the green gives the non-tree pollen level. (Langut and Finkelsein 2013)

Droughts Defined the Archaeological Periods in the Levant

(May 3, 2023) Droughts separate the archaeological periods in the Levant. States weakened by local droughts were often subject to raids right after the droughts by Mesopotamian empires which were unaffected due to their irrigation. Below is the latest widely accepted chronology proposed by Amihai Mazar in 2014 shown below: 

Droughts According to Drought Chart

  1. 1180-1140 BCE - Great Drought
  2. 980 BCE
  3. 845-840 BCE - Elijah Drought
  4. 732 BCE - led to Assyrian invasion  
  5. 605 BCE - led to Babylonian invasion 

Diagnostic Letter Shapes For Dating

  1. 605 BCE - "A" has square peak. "L" has hooked appendage.
  2. 732 BCE - "A" has pointed peak.  "L" has flat appendage.

References

Langut, D. Finkelsein, I, Litt, T. (2013) Climate and the Late Bronze Collapse: New Evidence from the Levant. Tel Aviv 40:149-175. Online at https://www.academia.edu/6053886/Climate_and_the_Late_Bronze_Collapse_New_Evidence_from_the_Southern_Levant
Mazar, Amihai (2005) The Debate over the Chronology of the Iron Age in the Southern Levant: its History, the Current Situation and a Suggested Resolution. pp. 15-30 in: T. Levy and T. Higham (editors), The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating - Archaeology, Text and Science. London. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/2632501/The_Debate_over_the_Chronology_of_the_Iron_Age_in_the_Southern_Levant_its_History_the_Current_Situation_and_a_Suggested_Resolution_2005

Translation

(December 16, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 1 and 2 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1. Su  NeKu  -  KaTe  MaWu.  'Bu  DaNu  NaRu.  MuTu  TiQu  NeTu -   ??  ?M  BiBu     (Lev 65.1)
  2. Ḫu  YaYa  -  UṢu  MuTu  -  UTu  EBu  Su  IRu  -  'Lu  Mu  IWu.  Ḫu  GaGu  Tu  Su. (Lev 65.2)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. Su is stripping  -  Kate/Hekate's waters.  Life-priests can judge the culling.  The killing is catching-the-eye of the Pruner (Ayu)  -  [words]  can be gated. 
  2. Hu is in pain.  -  The Originator (Alu) is being killed  -  by the weaving of sky-shell with Su's astrological-powers   -  Alu's fertility-fluids are being redirected.  Hu is being isolated by the astrology-magic of Su.

(December 14, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 3 and 4 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1. IRu  -  ZeNu  -  Ṣu  NaDu  -  Lu  EDu  Du  -  QeRu Pu  DaLu  -  UYu  BeLu  -  Lu  NaGu (Lev 65.3)
  2. ReṢu  NuRu.  NeTu  Ya  BeLu  -  Lu  Ṣu  MaṢu  -  UYa  BeLu  -  Lu  EDu  Du  -  QaMu  Nu (Lev 65.4)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. The astrological-empowerment  -  of rain  -  activity is being thrown-away.  -  Lacking are motivations for life-manifestations  -  Inquire about the openings for the water-bringer (Hu/Ba'al).  -  Fate-cursed are the life-constrainers (eagle-vultures)  -  causing the lack coastal-region (sky-shell, life network).
  2.  The upper-regions are being culled.  Not being pruned are the life-constrainers (eagle-vultures).  -  The lack of activity (motion powers) is enabling  -  the fate-cursing of the life-constrainers.  -  The lack of motivation is manifesting  -  the dryness of the revelations (of life forms). 

(December 15, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 5 and 6 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1. Yu  Zu  Lu  -  Lu  KaBu  BaMu  -  UYa  BeLu  -  Lu  Nu  Bu  ṢeYu  -  Zu  Yu  -  BaNu  ŠuBu  -  ZeNu (Lev 65.5)
  2. U'a  Tu  -  MaNu  -  MaNu  -  BaNu  Ya  AWu (Lev 65.6)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. Are not emanations lacking?  -  The lack is sowing division.  -  Fate-cursed are the life-constrainers.  -  The lack is revealing the nourishing of the blockages   -  Emanations  are not  -  being made good from the roast-offerings.  -  for rain.
  2. Fate-curses from astrology-magic  -  are supported.  -  The support  -  is not making good the motion-powers.

(December 15, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 7 and 8 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1. MaNu  Bu  Nu  Ya.  A  Ṣu  UYu  EYu  -  Lu  E (Lev 65.7)
  2. NeSu  IRu  -  Yu  Nu  Mu  -  ULu  UYa  Qu  Ḫu  -  MaNu (Lev 65.8)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. The support of nourishments is not being revealed.  That activity  is being fate-cursed  by  Eyu  -  who lacks nothing.
  2. Make-distant the astrological-powers.  -  Are not revelations of fertility-fluids  -  being made-stormy by the fate-curses for the threads of Hu's  -  support

(December 15, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 9 and 10 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1.  ḪeYu  Lu  -  KaRu  Mu  -  Šu  NuNu  -   Ṣu  A (Lev 65.9)
  2. Yu  UMu  NuNu  Lu  IWu.  MaNu  UYa  E (Lev 65.10)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. Respect is lacking.  -  reducing the fertility-fluids.  -  The same chaos  -  is being activated by that.
  2. Are not the storm-powers being chaotic from lacking redirection. Support is not from the fate-curses.

(December 15, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 11 and 12 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1. RaGu  -  BaNu  Bu  ṢeYu (Lev 65.9)
  2. UYa   Ṣu  UZu (Lev 65.10)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. Falseness  -  is being made-good by nourishing  blockages.
  2. Fate-curses are being activated by frustration

(December 15, 2023) Images are the large round dark new moon representing the motion source god Su and the winged sun disk representing the life connecting god Hu. Dots on the stele are phrase dividers.

Translation of Lines 13 in Akkadian (Lev Text 65)

(read left to right. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Vowels are italic bold) 
  1. Lu  IṢu  Qu (Lev 65.13)
(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. Lack is from making scarce the life-threads