Archaeologists using advanced trace-element chemical analysis have identified a previously unknown trade link connecting the Somali coast of East Africa directly to the heart of the Hittite Empire in central Anatolia. The study focused on rare aromatic resins and turquoise beads found in 13th-century BCE Hittite archaeological layers, revealing chemical signatures unique to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea littoral, rather than the more common Levantine or Sinai sources.
This discovery suggests that the Late Bronze Age trade networks were far more expansive and direct than previously documented. The research indicates a complex "relay system" where luxury goods traveled via maritime routes along the Red Sea before being transported overland through the Taurus Mountains to the Hittite capital of Hattusa, bypassing traditional Mesopotamian and Egyptian intermediaries.