The lifework of archaeologist Frederik Woudhuizen, who died in September 2021, consists of 25 books and more than 100 scholarly articles. Woudhuizen has proposed decipherments for writing systems that are generally considered to be undeciphered, including Cretan hieroglyphs, the Byblos script, Linear A and the Cypro-Minoan script. Virtually all of Woudhuizen’s investigations are interrelated, so that a coherent system of the early Mediterranean writing systems…

The field of Luwian studies has lost one of its most knowledgeable and prolific scholars: Frederik Christiaan Woudhuizen passed away on September 28, 2021. Fred Woudhuizen was an expert on ancient Indo-European languages, hieroglyphic Luwian and Mediterranean protohistory. He obtained a doctorate from Erasmus University Rotterdam with a dissertation on The Ethnicity of the Sea Peoples. Woudhuizen has published 25 books, including The Luwians of…

The European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC) met Sept. 6–11, 2021 for their annual conference in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, in the form of a combined on-site and virtual conference. “Cultural Astronomy & Ancient Skywatching” was the theme of the 28th annual SEAC meeting. The papers given covered natural and social sciences, including astronomy, anthropology, history, archaeology, architecture and mathematics. Luwian Studies’ president Eberhard Zangger…

The most recent scientific publication on Yazılıkaya has received a great response in a short period of time. After less than a week, over 100,000 people had already seen the new animation video summarizing the most important results of the study.

The publication of the latest article in JSA on cosmic symbolism in Yazılıkaya was accompanied by easy-to-understand summaries written by the scientists who contributed to the study. The online newsletter Ancient Near East Today (ANEToday) published an extensive article by E. Zangger and EC Krupp in which the core theses of the new model are presented to a wider audience. This

The Journal of Skyscape Archaeology (JSA) today published a major scientific article about cosmic symbolism at the Hittite rock sanctuary Yazılıkaya near Hattusa. Accordingly, the sanctuary in its entirety represents a symbolic image of the cosmos, including its static levels (earth, sky, underworld) and the cyclical processes of renewal and rebirth (day/night, lunar phases, summer/winter). Static levels and celestial cyclicities are emphasised throughout the sanctuary.…

The European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC) published the proceedings of the SEAC 2018 Conference in Graz under the title “Harmony and Symmetry. Celestial regularities shaping human culture”. The 440-page book is edited by Sonja Draxler, Max E. Lippitsch and Gudrun Wolfschmidt. It contains a contribution by Eberhard Zangger and Rita Gautschy entitled “The Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazılıkaya: A Time-Keeping Device from c.…

A year ago today, the last meeting of the board of Luwian Studies took place in Zurich in the form of a personal get-together. Scholars from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, the USA and even China came together in Zurich to hear Dr. Tijmen Pronk lecture about Indo-European and Anatolian languages, to have stimulating conversations and to enjoy an unforgettable dinner at the Hotel Savoy, which…

It has come to the attention of the Luwian Studies foundation that some social media posts have expressed a belief that the Alevi religious community may be descendants of the ancient Luwians. Although we have great respect for the Alevis, it is not possible that they are related to Luwians. The term Luwian refers to the city states and petty kingdoms that existed during the…

“The Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages” (SAMA) is a video interview channel on YouTube operated by Nick Barksdale from Oklahoma. Regardless of the name of this program, Nick Barksdale places an additional thematic focus on the end of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this context, interviews were recently produced with Dr. Fred Woudhuizen on the ethnicity…