Second International HFR Symposium

The Tablets and Their Scribes

The Palaeography of Hittite Cuneiform and Writing Practices in Hittite Anatolia

2–4 May 2024, Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz
6._Old_Hittite_Ritual_for_the_Royal_Couple_-_3D_scan_of_KBo_17.1__OH_.png 
Old Hittite Ritual for the Royal Couple (KBo 17.1; 3D scan in HPM Viewer)

The project “Hethitische Festrituale” (HFR) at the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz, which dedicates its work to a comprehensive edition of all Hittite festival texts, including cultural, religious, palaeographic and economic studies, will hold its Second International Symposium entitled “The Tablets and Their Scribes: The Palaeography of Hittite Cuneiform and Writing Practices in Hittite Anatolia” from 2nd until 4th May 2024 at the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz.

The symposium aims to discuss a variety of phenomena related to scribal habits and prac- tices in the Hittite kingdom. This includes both centrally-imposed systematic changes that the cuneiform script has undergone throughout its history in Anatolia, as well as handwriting and idiosyncrasies of individual scribes. Through studying the ductus of the tablet and sign sha- pes it is not only possible to date the text, but also to attribute it to a particular scribe or a scribal circle. The full potential of palaeo- graphical research is now emerging thanks to the application of modern tools that have been developed in recent years, like 3D scanning or digital sign-recognition.

The planned speakers are James M. Burgin, Michele Cammarosano, Meltem Doğan-Alparslan, Özlem Sir Gavaz, Susanne Görke, Shai Gordin, Svenja A. Gülden, Adam Kryszeń, Timothy Leonard, Jürgen Lorenz, Alice Mouton, Gerfrid G. W. Müller, Elisabeth Rieken, Gülgüney Masalcı Şahin, Daniel Schwemer, Oğuz Soysal, Charles W. Steitler, Andrea Trameri, Willemijn Waal, and Mark Weeden.

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Venue
Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur | Mainz, Plenarsaal, Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 2, 55131 Mainz
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Mainz is easily accessible from Frankfurt International Airport (via S-Bahn); for detailed directions to the Akademie, please click here
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Programm

Thur 2 May 2024

from 13.45 Meet & greet, refreshments

14.15–16.00 Session 1

14.15–14.30 Welcome

14.30–15.00 Svenja A. Gülden: Handwriting in ancient Egypt: Principles and possibilities of a digital palaeography

15.00–15.30 Gerfrid G. W. Müller: Digital Palaeography:  Aims, methods, and tools

15.30–16.00 Shai Gordin: Matters of genre, style, and orthography: Hittite scribal habits through the stylometric lens

16.00–16.30 Coffee break

16.30–18.00 Session 2

16.30–17.00 Susanne Görke: The palaeography of the Palaic texts from Ḫattuša

17.00–17.30 Oğuz Soysal: Stadtbelagerung, Bärenjagd und Textdatierung: Bemerkungen zum sogenannten „Zukraši-Text“ im Fokus auf eine Problematik in der Hethitologie

17.30–18.00 Yusuf Kıraç: Director, Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi / Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Ankara) 

18.15 Reception in the Academy

 

Fri 3 May 2024

9.30–11.00 Session 3

9.30–10.00 Michele Cammarosano: Who wrote the Hittite cult inventories? Looking at cuneiform tablets through a combined appraisal of palaeographic and orthographic features

10.00–10.30 James M. Burgin: How many scribes? The palaeography of the Hittite Palace-Temple Administrative Corpus

10.30–11.00 Daniel Schwemer: The Scribes of Puduḫepa: The scribal practice reflected in the Hittite votive texts

11.00–11.30 Coffee break

11.30–12.30 Session 4

11.30–12.00 Andrea Trameri:  Writing practices and scribal customs in Hittite divination texts

12.00–12.30 Meltem Doğan-Alparslan: The recording of the ḫišuwa- festival

12.30–14.00 Lunch break

14.00–15.30 Session 5

14.00–14.30 Charles W. Steitler: The tablets of the 16th day of the AN.DAḪ.ŠUM festival: A palaeographic analysis

14.30–15.00 Adam Kryszeń: Of scribes and hands: Thoughts on the palaeography of the nuntarriyašḫa- festival tablets

15.30 Visit of the Sanctuary of Isis and Mater Magna, Mainz

19.30 Dinner for the Speakers (TBA)

 

Sat 4 May 2024

9.30–10.30 Session 6

9.30–10.00 Willemijn Waal: Standard rules? The scribal practices of Ḫattuša compared to those of other Hittite sites

10.00–10.30 Timothy Leonard: The palaeography of the texts from Maşat Höyük

10.30–11.00 Coffee break

11.00–12.00 Session 7

11.00–11.30 Mark Weeden: The palaeography of the Büklükale tablets

11.30–12.00 Jürgen Lorenz & Elisabeth Rieken: The texts from the excavation of the Kayalıpınar temple archive and their scribes

12.00–12.30 Conclusion of the conference

(Programme last updated on 19.04.2024)