1,600-year-old statue discovered in Turkey in 2018 was missing its head — until now
The ancient city of Tripolis, Turkey has seen thousands of years of history.
First built in the Late Neolithic period, the city was along an important regional trade route and later saw a visit from Marc Antony and fell under the rule of the Roman Empire.
The city — which included a stadium, theater, bath, streets and parliament buildings — was controlled by the Byzantines, Ottomans and Turks for centuries before falling to ruin.
In 2018, the statue of a high-ranking public official from the fourth century was discovered by archaeologists, according to Mehmet Ersoy, the Turkey Minister of Culture and Tourism.
There was just one problem — it was missing its head.
The statue depicts a public administrator named Antonius Philagrios and was carved during the fourth century, Ersoy said in a Nov. 20 Facebook post.
Excavations at the site continued, but it wasn’t until six years later that the lost head was discovered. One year into the Future Heritage Project, archaeologists discovered the white carving of Philagrios’ head, Ersoy said.
In a video posted by Ersoy, a researcher is seen carefully removing dirt from an area near the bottom of a structure. The archaeologist exposes the face of the statue and then uses tools to loosen the head from the sediment.
After the discovery was photographed and cataloged, it was brought to a lab where researchers could start work on its restoration, the video shows.
Researchers covered the statue in a white material and allowed it to rest, filling in the gaps and holes left behind by time, the video shows. The statue was uncovered and cleaned.
Ersoy said the head has been reunited with the rest of the statue, which was kept in the Denizli Hierapolis Archaeological Museum.
The Tripolis archaeological site is in western Turkey, about a 340-mile drive south from Istanbul.
Facebook Translate and Google Translate were used to translate the Facebook post from Ersoy.
This story was originally published November 21, 2024 at 2:28 PM with the headline "1,600-year-old statue discovered in Turkey in 2018 was missing its head — until now."
