While investigating the remains of Greek-era buildings beneath the Roman theater in the ancient city of Myra in the region of Lycia, on Turkey’s southwestern coast, archaeologists unearthed 40 intact terracotta statuettes, along with fragments of perhaps 50 more. The sculptures, which date to the second and first centuries B.C., depict Greek deities, animals, and men, women, and children performing daily activities such as riding horses and carrying water. Among the discoveries are rare statuettes of Leto and her divine children: Artemis, patron goddess of Myra, and Apollo, who was Lycia’s patron deity. Many of the sculptures still have traces of pink, blue, and red paint. “It was the biggest surprise to find such a rich and diverse collection of figurines,” says archaeologist Nevzat Çevik of Akdeniz University. He notes that the figurines, some of which appear to have been crafted locally, were probably votive objects.
Artemis, Apollo, and Friends
SHARE:
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2019
Funny Business
(Courtesy Michael Hoff/Antiochia ad Cragum Excavations)
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2022
Canyon of the Ancestors
(Blaundus Excavation Archive)
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2022
More Images From Digs & Discoveries
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2021
Kaleidoscopic Walls
(Courtesy of Cees Passchier)
-
Artifacts May/June 2021
Magdalenian Wind Instrument
(Courtesy Carole Fritz et al. 2021/CNRS – the French National Centre for Scientific Research) -
Around the World May/June 2021
NEW ZEALAND
(Nelson Parker) -
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2021
You Are How You Cook
(loraks/iStock) -
Features May/June 2021
Last Stand of the Hunter-Gatherers?
The 11,000-year-old stone circles of Göbekli Tepe in modern Turkey may have been monuments to a vanishing way of life
(Vincent J. Musi)