watta(t)tar/n-

The two attestations are found in a single NS tablet containing Bildbeschreibungen.

[E.R.]

nom./acc. sg.	KUR-tar	KUB 38.7 iii 6’	(CTH 527, LNS)
nom./acc. pl.	⸢wa⸣-at-ta-at-ra	KUB 38.32 obv. 2	(CTH 526, NS)
	wa-at-ta-at-ra	KUB 38.32 rev. 20’	(CTH 526, NS)

On the assignment of KUR-tar at KUB 38.7 iii 6’, see under Meaning.

[E.R.]

Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv.

[E.R.]

The word occurs in two similar descriptions of iron statues of a mountain-god standing on two wattatra items also made of iron (KUB 38.32 obv. 2: GAM-ŠÚ 2 wattatra AN.BAR 1 šekan DÙ-anzi “under it, they make two wattatra of iron of 1 span”). Starke 1990a:524 discusses the possibility that the wattatra are fixtures. However, this seems highly unlikely because iron was too precious a material to be used to support a wooden statue of only 1.5 spans size even when iron-coated. All remaining semantic interpretations regard the two wattatra as a component of the image and rely heavily upon etymological considerations. Thus, Jakob-Rost 1963a:193-195 adduces wattaru- ‘source, well’ and translates wattatra likewise (followed in Siegelová 1984a:116f., HW:462, Ünal 2007a:797). Starke 1990a:524 rejects the idea for morphological reasons. However, an indirect relationship does not seem to be a priori excluded, since both words could be based on the root *watt-. The same would apply to proposal of Laroche 1967a:33f. to connect wattatra with wattāi- ‘bird’, referring to the symbol of the two-headed eagle. Starke 1990a himself points to wattant(i)- (see under Lemma), which, however, suffers from the same problems regarding its semantic elucidation. More recently, Gérard 2006a:250 has suggested a derivation from watt(i)- ‘mountain’ with a meaning ‘representation of a mountain’, and this has much to recommend itself. First, it would be fully adequate that the human-shaped image of a mountain god stands on representations of mountains; cf. the relief of king Tudḫaliya, who is named after a mountain, in Chamber A of Yazılıkaya, in which he stands on two separately carved mountains (see also Siegelová 1984a:116). Secondly, the typical dyad of mountains indicates that this interpretation is correct. Finally, the attestation of KUR-tar ‘representation of a mountain’ (KUB 38.7 iii 6’, adduced in Siegelová 1984a:116 n. 7 and HEG U-Z:450) shows independently that a stem in -tar derived from the word for ‘mountain’ exists.

[E.R.]

For the assignment to the class of Luwian stems in -attar/-at(ta)naš, see Starke 1990a:524f. It belongs to a group of abstract nouns denoting representations of deities or divine locations: DINGIR^MEŠ-tar or DINGIR^LIM-tar with dat./loc. sg. DINGIR^MEŠ-ni ‘divine image, spirit holder’ (for meaning and attestations, see CHD Š:507f.), PÚ-tar ‘representation of a fountain’, UR.MAḪ-tar ‘lion statue’ (HEG U-Z:450). Therefore, although the oblique n-stem is unattested, the alternative, a neuter instrument noun in -at(ta)r- can safely be excluded on semantic grounds.

[E.R.]

The derivational base watt(i)- and, more importantly, the suffix -attar/n- points to a Luwian origin for the word (cf. Starke 1990a:524f., CLL:267, Gérard 2006a:250f.; elsewhere the word is not classified as Luwian).

[E.R.]

For the lemma head see CLuw. watt(i)-.