Hittite festival texts, the largest among the groups of documents in the libraries of Hattusa, are extremely lengthy compositions. Previous studies have either given general overviews of whole festivals, or have chosen individual tablets for in-depth philological investigations. This is the first comprehensive study of a large festival text, revealing its basic threepart structure: a detailed scenario of the festivities, the liturgy recited, and the logistic directives. The "Gatehouse (KI.LAM) Festival" lasted for three days and included pompous processions to public buildings in the capital...

Hittite festival texts, the largest among the groups of documents in the libraries of Hattusa, are extremely lengthy compositions. Previous studies have either given general overviews of whole festivals, or have chosen individual tablets for in-depth philological investigations. This is the first comprehensive study of a large festival text, revealing its basic threepart structure: a detailed scenario of the festivities, the liturgy recited, and the logistic directives. The "Gatehouse (KI.LAM) Festival" lasted for three days and included pompous processions to public buildings in the capital...