Archaeologists unearth ancient clay tablets ‘which could lead to locations of 11 lost cities’

Ancient Assyrian clay tablets which date back four millennia could guide researchers to the locations of 11 ‘lost cities’ in modern-day Turkey.

The tablets contain business records from traders in wool, wine and other precious goods – and offer hints of the locations of cities which have lain undiscovered so far.

Harvard researchers analysed tablets found in the ancient city of Kanesh, the 12,000 cuneiform trade records include business transactions, accounts, seals and contracts.

The researchers used mathematical models based on the price of goods and how frequently goods travelled between trade hubs to track down the locations of the ancient cities.

Researchers reconstructed an economic network of trade goods such as wool, wine and precious metals across the Anatolian plateau in the 19th Century BC.

The researchers believe they’ve identified 15 cities which have already been found – and 11 which have not, according to IFLScience.

The merchants settled in Turkey 4,000 years ago, trading in tin and fabrics.

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Records include recollections from traders, including one who wrote, ‘I met with the king in Ninassa, but . . . he did not buy a single textile.’

The city of Sinahuttum is described as a ‘market for donkeys’ and a popular place to exchange wool

The records come from Kanesh, near the modern Turkish city of Kayseri.