Gasgan Chariots

 

Here are two 15mm Gasgan or Kaskan chariots that I've just painted. The figures are by Khurarsan Miniatures. The Kaskan tribes from the Pontic mountains to the north were enemies of the Hittites and a constant source of trouble who sacked Hattusa, the Hittite capital, on at least one occasion. Not much is known about them apart from references in Hittite clay tablets.

Hittite Chariots

 

Here are two Hittite chariots that I've just finished painting. The figures are by Wargames Foundry. The back drop photo was taken in Turkey in 2011 and is inside the reconstructed walls of Hattusa (the ancient Hittite capital, modern Bogazkale).

Hittite Reinforcements

Here are some reinforcements for my 15mm Hittites, they are a mix of ranges, mainly Gladiator Games (formerly Black Hat Miniatures), chunky little figures with a lot of character. I repainted all the bases of my painted figures to a sandy desert colour to match my New Kingdom Egyptians. I've just started using Gamers Grass Tiny Tufts for my 15mm bases and not only are they are a perfect size, but they're really tacky like Leadbear's Tufts, you don't even need to use PVA to glue them on, and they're good value too, you get 500 in a pack.

Earlier in the week I got my Mortem et Gloriam (MeG) preorders in the mail, including the MeG Compendium. I was pleased to see that a photo of my 15mm Hittites made it to print in the rules (p.197) but I'm not too sure about the caption, "Trojans before the Walls of Troy"! This is the photo below, the back drop part is inside the reconstructed walls at Hattusa, the ancient Hittite capital, (modern Bogazkale, formerly Bogazkoy). The other photos above have a back drop that shows the outside of a reconstructed tower and the walls.

Yazilikaya

Chamber A Twelve Gods of the Underworld and a Mountain God

Chamber A

Chamber A (reliefs nos.25-33)

Chamber A Relief of Great King Tudhaliya IV

Chamber A

Chamber A

Chamber A

Chamber A

Chamber A female deities (reliefs nos. 49-50)

Chamber A female deities (reliefs nos. 51-54)

The rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya (= rock with writing) is about 1.5km northeast of the Great Temple at Hattusa. Although it was in use from the 15th century BC it wasn't until the 13th century that the reliefs of (mainly) deities were carved. There are 65 reliefs in Chamber A and 15 in Chamber B. It is hard to see the detail in some of the reliefs because of the level of light and shade. There are optimum times of day for viewing them. It is also hard to identify what some of the reliefs are actually of, in the photos, so I have just labelled these with the relevant chamber - Chamber A.

If you're interested in the reliefs at Yazilikaya a great book to get is Gods Carved in Stone The Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazilikaya by Jurgen Seeher. This is a beautifully produced book with 205 pages packed with text, colour and black white photos, drawings and plan diagrams. Two highly recommended Hittite site travel guides are Hattusha-Guide A Day in the Hittite Capital by Jurgen Seeher (this covers both Hattusa and Yazilikaya) and Anatolia: On the Trail of the Hittite Civilization by Ali Kilicaya and Erdal Yazici (this covers a very wide range of sites and museums in Turkey).

Chamber A female deities (reliefs nos. 49-54)

Chamber A

Chamber A climactic scene (reliefs nos.41-46)

Chamber A

Chamber B Twelve Gods of the Underworld

Chamber B The 'Sword God',  Nergal of the Underworld

Chamber B Great King Tudhaliya IV embraced by the god Sharrumma

Chamber B Great King Tudhaliya IV embraced by the god Sharrumma

View of Hattusa from Yazilikaya

Hattusa

 Grand Temple excavations with view of reconstructed walls and towers

Grand Temple 

Storage jars Grand Temple

Grand Temple

Store room door entrances Grand Temple

'The Green Stone' Grand Temple

Lion tub Grand Temple

Excavations Kesi Kaya (Split Rock)

Kizlar Kaya (Maiden's Rock)

Lower West Gate

Excavations below Sarikale

Restoration work on the Lion Gate

Temple Number 30

Yenice Kale

View towards Grand Castle

Yerkapi tunnel

Yerkapi ramp

Yerkapi steps

Sphinx Gate 

Outward view from the Sphinx Gate

District of Temples, Temple Number 3

King's Gate (Kral Kapi)

Grand Castle - the Royal Palace (Buyukkale)

Chamber 1

Chamber 2 (Hieroglyph Chamber)

Relief of the Sun God Chamber 2

Luwian Hireoglyphs right wall Chamber 2

Relief of Suppiluliuma II left wall Chamber 2

Hieroglyphs Nisantasi