AI and Archaeology Join Forces to Decode Hittite Civilization

The Lion Gate of Hattusa, superior of the Hittite Empire. Credit: Carole Raddato / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

A caller probe inaugural is bringing artificial quality (AI) and archaeology unneurotic to unlock the mysteries of the past Hittite civilization. Researchers from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) are starring the project, which is reshaping however experts analyse and link thousands of clay tablet fragments near down by 1 of Anatolia’s astir almighty Bronze Age empires.

The project, titled “Digital Pathways to the Hittite World,” aims to modernize the Hethitologie-Portal Mainz (HPM), a long-standing integer assets for Hittite studies. By integrating tools from AI, archaeology and philology, the squad plans to grow the portal into a cutting-edge level for probe connected the Hittite world.

Professor Daniel Schwemer, caput of Ancient Near Eastern Studies astatine JMU, is directing the task on with collaborators Stephanie Döpper, Martin Gruber and Andreas Schachner of the German Archaeological Institute successful Istanbul.

Digital infrastructure and AI enactment are provided by JMU’s Center for Philology and Digitality (ZPD) and the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDAS), nether the guidance of Professor Andreas Hotho.

Improving fragment investigation and information consistency

One of the project’s priorities is improving information quality. Since excavations astatine Boğazköy-Ḫattuša began successful 1906, records person varied successful consistency. Döpper said differences successful however excavation sites were documented implicit the decades marque structured searches difficult.

The squad is addressing this by cleaning metadata, standardizing determination names and improving however fragments are described and linked.

In summation to refining existing data, the task introduces AI-driven connection tools. A German-trained ample connection exemplary known arsenic LLäMmlein is being adapted to larn Hittite.

The extinct Hittite language, arsenic seen connected his clay tablet, was a portion of the Indo-European family. Credit: The Trustees of the British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

This exemplary volition assistance researchers reconstruct fragmentary texts by predicting apt continuations and identifying linguistic patterns, speeding up the assembly of incomplete tablets.

Another large absorption is resolving inconsistencies successful older tract records. Researchers are reviewing archetypal excavation logs to standardize terminology and guarantee close mapping of wherever tablets and objects were found.

The squad is besides improving classification methods for ceramic sherds, moving distant from unreliable features similar preserved magnitude toward much close integer typology systems.

AI archaeology transforms Hittite Civilization research

The task builds connected astir 25 years of enactment connected the HPM, which began successful 2001 with enactment from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

A caller signifier of development, backed by VolkswagenStiftung, volition see Linked Open Data standards, geolocation of finds and enhanced signifier designation for Hittite artifacts.

The Hittites, who ruled overmuch of Anatolia betwixt 1650 and 1200 BCE, near down thousands of cuneiform tablets. By linking texts, objects and archaeological discourse done integer tools, the task aims to unfastened caller paths of find crossed disciplines.