A mundane task from millennia ago has yielded an extraordinary archaeological find. In the rubble of a Bronze Age city devastated by earthquake, archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed a tiny 3,500-year-old clay tablet that reads like a relic from a modern-day IKEA.
Inscribed with ancient cuneiform, the document details a bulk order for tables, chairs, and stools. It gives a snapshot of domestic life and economic activity in a time when civilizations were first emerging from mudbrick. This unassuming shopping list, experts say, could reshape our understanding of trade, commerce, and even the structure of society in the 15th century B.C.
Remnants of an Ancient City
The tablet was unearthed in the ruins of the ancient city of Alalakh. Once a thriving metropolis, Alalakh served as a major cultural and economic hub in the Middle Bronze Age Levant. Excavations have unearthed well-preserved palaces, temples, and administrative buildings, revealing the city’s complex societal structure and daily life. The city’s strategic location made it a melting pot of cultures, evident in the diverse artifacts and architectural styles found at the site.
Known today as Tell Atchana, Alalakh was the capital city of the Kingdom of Mukish and one of the largest settlements in the area for a long time. Its history was marked by conquests and rebuilding, including periods under Hittite and Mitanni control. Subsequent invasions and conflicts contributed to Alalakh’s decline. The city was eventually abandoned and did not recover to its former prominence.
There is much we still don’t know about Alalakh and the Amorites (the Bronze Age Levantine people who lived there). But every once in a while, archaeologists manage to find some item or inscription that reveals another little secret.
The clay tablet found at Alalakh is relatively small, measuring around 1.6 by 1.4 inches, with a thickness of 0.6 inches and a weight of roughly 1 ounce. The first lines catalog a large purchase of wooden tables, chairs, and stools. While the identities of the tablet’s author and recipient remain unknown, Mehmet Ersoy, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, remarked that “this tablet is useful for understanding the economic structure and state system of the Late Bronze Age.”
A Glimpse into Ancient Economies
Written in Akkadian cuneiform, the tablet provides valuable insights into the commerce of the period. Akkadian is a now-extinct language related to Arabic and Hebrew and is the earliest Semitic language. It was widely used from Iran to Egypt and from southern Iraq to central Turkey. Initially, the script was invented to write the Sumerian language, but was later adapted for Akkadian and, subsequently, other tongues, such as Hittite.
The tablet was discovered during restoration work following an earthquake in the Old City of Alalakh and in the broader region of Hatay in Turkey. At the time when this tablet was etched, the kingdom was under the control of the Mittani Empire, known for its production of pottery, metal, and glass.
Archaeologists, including a team from Johns Hopkins University, are studying this and other tablets from the area to understand the social and economic dynamics of ancient Alalakh.
This discovery not only sheds light on the day-to-day transactions of ancient civilizations but also highlights the continuity of human behavior across millennia. Although literacy in ancient times was always low, that doesn’t mean writing was reserved for high-level documents and state monuments. Then and now, writing has always been a tool of convenience — and this unsuspecting shopping list is a prime example. For instance, an even earlier clay tablet from 1750 B.C. records the story of a disappointed Babylonian customer who was shipped low-quality copper ore — in effect, it’s the oldest complaint letter in history.
