Located in modern day Turkey are the remains of the ancient city of Kanesh. Excavations have revealed many ancient wonders, but one in particular could very well lead to many more discoveries that will astound and educate the world.

This ancient wonder comes in the form of a 4,000 year-old Assyrian clay tablet. Written in ancient cuneiform script this Sumerian document is thought to be a marriage contract describing business transactions, accounts seals, and contracts–among other things. Sounds interesting right? If your a historical nerd like me, this might be a gold mine of information, but to the layperson might be uninteresting. Guess again!

The Sumerian clay tablet was so detailed that experts have described Kanesh as a “flourishing market economy, based on free enterprise and private initiative, profit-seeking and risk taking merchants, backed by elaborate financial contracts and a well-functioning judicial system.”

These records not only describe what is being traded, but also with what cities Kanesh traded with. After having studied approximately 12,000 similar cuneiform tablets, experts think that they’ve identified 26 cities (15 of which have already been discovered). So, 11 ancient cities (that are know to have existed) are now on the cusp of being brought to light again after thousands of years in obscurity.

There are no coordinates to plug into a gps, no spot to say ‘dig here.’

What experts did know was that Kanesh traded more with other cities that were geographically closer. So they developed a mathematical model that gave archaeologists approximations as to where these 11 ancient cities might be. In the future, if the math has merit, we might all learn more about the amazing Assyrian Empire.

For more information, you can reference the Washington Post or the National Bureau of Economic Research for more information.