Object description

A Hittite inscription in Luwian hieroglyphs found during excavation of the area indicates that the structure was dedicated to the Hittite goddess Ḫepat. This goddess was honoured by Puduhepa, the wife of Great King Hattusili III, who called herself the goddess' servant. From a cuneiform document it is known that her son, Tudhaliya IV, who succeeded Hattusili, had ten dams built in the Hittite empire around 1240 BC after a period of drought. From this it may be concluded that the Gölpınar dam is the work of Tudhaliya. It provided irrigation water and possibly drinking water to the inhabitants of Alaca Höyük.