Statue Unearthed in Ancient City of Patara

News May 29, 2020

(Patara Excavations)
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Turkey Patara Sculpture
(Patara Excavations)

ANTALYA, TURKEY—Hürriyet Daily News reports that a tenth sculpture has been unearthed at the site of the stage building in the theater at the ancient Lycian city of Patara, which is located on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Construction of the stage was begun by Quintus Vilius Titianus, a leading citizen of Patara, and completed by his daughter Vilia Prokla after his death. Archaeologist Havva İșkan Ișik of Akdeniz University thinks this 1,900-year-old statue, which is missing its head, may depict the wife of a Roman emperor, Prokla herself, or one of her family members. Ișik and her team will attempt to identify all ten of the statues. “Scientific research will focus especially on whether the works are made by local masters or artists from other schools,” she added. To read about the discovery of fragments of a massive inscription by the philosopher Diogenes of Oinoanda in what was the province of Lycia, go to “In Search of a Philosopher’s Stone.”

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