DEMRE, TURKEY—Dozens of terracotta figurines have been discovered on Turkey’s southwestern coast in the ancient Lycian town of Myra by a team of researchers led by Nevzat Çevik of Akdeniz University, according to a Live Science report. The 2,200-year-old sculptures were found along with other objects made of ceramic, bronze, lead, and silver in the remains of the Hellenistic theater, which lay under the town’s larger Roman theater. The sculptures depict men, women, cavalry, animals, and the Greek deities Artemis, Heracles, Aphrodite, Leto, and Apollo. Some of the figures still bear traces of red, blue, and pink paint in different shades, Çevik said. Inscriptions on the backs of some of the statues may records the names of a workshop or artist, he added. The team members also recovered votive plates and incense containers, and think the figurines may have been displayed in a cult area before they were moved to the theater site. To read about recent reanalysis of hundreds of Phoenician ceramic figurines found on the seafloor off the coast of Israel, go to "Offerings at Sea."
