In use during the Hittite empire, the abschnittsmauer was an inner city wall that protected the Great Temple and adjacent settlement. It was 7m thick and adhered to the box system (kasternmauer): an outer and an inner wall (each ~1.5-2m thick) were connected every several meters by transverse walls, forming enclosed box-shaped spaces that were then filled with rubble. Each 20-25m segment of curtain wall was adjoined by a tower that was 3-4m thicker than the curtain wall and protruded at the front.

For security reasons, Hittites kept limited access to their city walls. Only every sixth or seventh tower had a door to get in from the ground outside. Every tower had two doors on its upper story to access the adjacent curtain walls; the curtain walls were only accessible from the towers. Tall rectangular windows were built into the towers on the front, back and two sides protruding from the curtain walls. The tower roofs were accessible via a ladder. To stabilize each story of the towers, an encircling anchorage of large timbers (ringanker) was installed; in the reconstruction, this is visible as a bulging line between each story.

The roof was made of a dense layer of poplar logs, covered by a layer of mud, covered by a 10-12cm thick layer of impermeable earthen çorak. The outer surface of the roof was divided into sections, each slightly sloped to guide rain water to drains. Drains were made of timber halves. These kinds of roofs are still used in Anatolian villages. After heavy rains they require re-sealing and re-sloping; snow must be quickly removed or else trapped melted water will permeate the roof.

Temple 1 (Great Temple) is the largest building structure in Hattusha. The temple itself is 65×42m; including its storerooms it is 14,500m². Its construction date is unknown, but it was likely in use during the Hittite Empire. The Temple Building lacks a staircase, indicating it was only one story. Monolithic doorsills mark doorways, aiding to determine the Great Temple’s 82 ground-floor rooms. The storage depots likely had stairwell access to two or even three stories, meaning the storage magazines contained a maximum of 200 storerooms.

Some of the Great Temple’s wall socles were fashioned out of limestone blocks up to 1.5m high and up to 5m long, weighing 20 tons or more. The walls themselves were timber frame construction filled with mudbrick. They were then covered with mud plaster, in areas worked into designs in relief and likely painted lavishly. The roof was made of timbers sealed with mud. Many dowel holes remain, as do the low sills of large windows. The Great Temple was likely kept shuttered, however, due to its sanctity.

In the Old Hittite Period a subterranean grain silo was built next to the Postern Wall (note that Büyükkaya is home to a separate silo). The complex was ~118m long and 30-40m wide, containing two rows each containing 16 compartments. The walls (but not floors) were made of ~1.5m thick mud-brick tiles; outside surfaces were insulated with thick layers of clay to keep out moisture. The compartment was then lined with a thick layer of straw. Grain was poured up to the rim of the compartment. Atop this was placed straw and then loamy soil to create a hermetic seal. Though the height of the compartments is unknown, though their capacity was realistically 7-9,000m³. This could suffice 20-30,000 people for a year (barring beer brewing) and must have served as not just a reserve, but as a treasury important to the Hittite king’s economic power.

During the 16^th cent BC the silo complex was engulfed in flames that consumed exterior structures. Some grain burned, but due to low oxygen levels much of it was just charred. Excavations not only uncovered preserved mud-bricks, but also layers over one meter thick of preserved grain, the only find of its kind in the ancient Near East. Most of the grain was barley, but various seeds of weeds and other plants were also present; these likely grew in the fields and made their way into the harvest.