Bitik vase: Discovered incidentally in 1942 by villagers at 42 kilometers from Ankara at Bitik Höyük. A large vase boasted with figured reliefs; on the fragments of its body and neck are depictions of the “Sacred marriage rite”(Hieros gamos). Among the friezes separated by bands with web motifs is the frieze above depicting a man (left) and a woman (right) seated on a stool and faced-to-face, in a structure that may be a temple or palace. The man extends his left hand and holds a bowl, whereas he is about to open the woman’s headwear with his right hand. Outside the temple a woman is standing that can be seen from the waist down. The frieze in the middle depicts six male figures, only two of them are preserved. The man at the farthest back is closing his left fist while the forward positioning of his thumb indicates the man is praying. He carries on his back a flask on a strap hanging from his shoulder. The other figure holds a double-handled container. They carry food and beverages. The bottom frieze depicts two men facing each other. They are dancing while holding weapons and/or are conducting a war dance.
Samples of cultic vases with reliefs that merit the description “masterpiece” have been unearthed not in the great Hittite capital Hattusha but in smaller provincial towns; their ancient names are as of yet unknown. They have greatly contributed to our understanding of visual arts in the Old Hittite Period. Among them the Inandık vase (Çankırı), Eskiyapar (Çorum), Hüseyindede (Çorum) and the Bitik Vase.