The tablet and its scribe: Between archival and scribal spaces in late empire period Hattusa

This study explores the personal copyist statement in the tablet colophons, the scribes who appear in them and the tablets' findspots in order to demonstrate the relationships between text, scribe and the scholarly work environment of Hattusa in the late Empire period (second half of the 13 ^th cent. BC). It is initially demonstrated how Hittite scribal statements were appended to specific types of texts and had a recurring structure that reflects their purpose. A look at festivals follows. Two large Hittite festivals, the hišuwa and AN.TAHŠUM^SAR, were both prepared by scholars related to or working under Walwaziti, the chief scribe of Hattusili III, and his family. However, at some point, perhaps during the reign of Tudhaliya IV, the complex work on the AN.TAHŠUM ^SAR festival came under the authority of another scribal group, that of Anuwanza. In this context it is also considered whether certain shelf lists may have been accounts of tablets removed from an archival section.