29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

15 new sculptures discovered in Turkey’s sculpture paradise Yesemek

Archaeologists discovered 15 new sculptures during recent digs around the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop in the Islahiye region of southern Gaziantep province.

The Yesemek Open-Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop, which spans 100 decares (24.7 acres) and was inscribed on UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List in 2012, exhibits how the sculpture workshop was managed, as well as the techniques and materials utilized in the sculpture-making process.

The significance of Yesemek Stone Quarry and Sculptural Workshop is rooted in its basalt quarry and stone sculptures found at the site.

Yesemek was first discovered by Felix Von Luschan in 1890 while he was excavating Zincirli (Sam’al). Between 1958 and 1961, the site was excavated by a team under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Bahadır Alkım. The site-hosted excavations were carried out in the area by İlhan Temizsoy in the 1990s. The excavations at the site yielded approximately three hundred finished or unfinished lion, sphinx, and mountain god sculptures.

An expert works on a newly found sculpture in the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop, Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. (Photo: AA)

The latest archaeological excavation of the site’s researchers added 15 additional new sculptures to Yesemek’s collection, chiefly of lions and sphinxes. The open-air museum’s director, Özgür Çomak, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the relics were unearthed during excavations under the presidency of Professor Atilla Engin.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Stating that they uncovered important findings in the excavations that started after about 31 years, Çomak said: “It was known that there were approximately 520 sculptures in the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop. However, our recent works proved there are more artworks hidden under the site. We will continue our archaeological studies and hopefully will uncover more sculptures.”

Sculptures are seen in the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop, Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. (Photo: DHA)
Sculptures are seen in the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop, Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey. (Photo: DHA)

Reiterating that Yesemek is in a UNESCO process, Çomak said that they need more information and documents about the history of the site for its inclusion to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Noting that they have been sustaining their excavations for this purpose, the director continued: “Hittites produced sculptures using local stone from the slopes outside the quarry here. Yesemek is the largest and oldest sculpture workshop in the region. This place has a universal cultural value and we have to introduce this value to the world.”

Yesemek was the largest stone quarry and statue-processing worksite of Near East between the fourth quarter of the 2nd thousand B.C. and 8th century B.C.

The region was ruled by Hittite between 1375-1335 BC. in this period in the Emperor of Suppilluma I the administration of the workshop was started where local people were working. In the worksite where activities are slowed down for a while, studies again gained speed during the late Hittite Kingdoms Period. During the new period especially Hittite, Syrian, Aromi, and Assyrian Art Elements gained importance.

Related Articles

Oman has recovered an exceptional collection of silver jewelry from a prehistoric grave

7 November 2022

7 November 2022

From a prehistoric grave dating to the 3rd millennium BC in Dahwa, North Batinah, a team of international archaeologists working...

Artificial intelligence is Detecting New Archaeological Sites in the Arabian desert

5 October 2024

5 October 2024

A team of researchers at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi has developed a machine-learning algorithm to help them trawl vast...

5,500-Year-Old Blade Workshop Unearthed Near Biblical Gath Reveals

28 July 2025

28 July 2025

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, Israeli researchers have unearthed a 5,500-year-old flint blade workshop near Kiryat Gat, southern Israel—the first...

Rare Five Bronze Age Axes found in the Forests of Poland

5 December 2023

5 December 2023

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered five Bronze Age axes in Starogard Forest District, located in Kociewie. A metal detectorist named...

Ötzi the Iceman Had Dark Skin, Bald Head and Anatolian Ancestry -New study rewrites ancient history

17 August 2023

17 August 2023

New DNA analysis by German researchers shows that the famous glacier mummy Ötzi may have had dark skin, dark eyes,...

Botanical Findings Analysis from Biblical area of Goliath sheds Unprecedented Light on Philistine Ritual Practices

27 February 2024

27 February 2024

Bar-Ilan University researchers shed “unprecedented light” on Philistine ritual practices, such as the use of psychoactive and medicinal plants, by...

Royal-Memorial Inscription Attributed to King Sargon II Discovered in Western Iran

25 April 2021

25 April 2021

In western Iran, Iranian archaeologists discovered a part of a royal memorial inscription attributed to the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II....

The very unknown ancient city of the Mediterranean; Syedra

3 July 2022

3 July 2022

Known as Turkey’s holiday paradise, the Antalya region is a treasure when it comes to ancient cities. Close to the...

4,500-Year-Old ‘Gifted Graves’ Unearthed at Ikiztepe Mound in Northern Türkiye

25 October 2025

25 October 2025

Archaeologists working at the prehistoric site of Ikiztepe Mound in northern Türkiye have uncovered two extraordinary burials — one belonging...

Archaeologists Found an Egyptian Temple Slotted into a Cliff Face, Probably Dedicated to a Lion-Headed Goddess Repit

15 December 2024

15 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a hidden gateway leading to a 2,100-year-old temple built into a cliff face at the ancient city...

Luxurious 2,200-year-old King Tomb Discovered in China

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a luxurious 2,200-year-old tomb in eastern China, the largest, highest-ranking, and most structurally complex ever unearthed, which...

In Medieval burial ground, a rare embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ was discovered

26 February 2023

26 February 2023

Russian archaeologists have uncovered a rare embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ in a medieval burial ground. 46 graves have been...

New Study Finds, 4,000-Year-Old Toolkit Unearthed Near Stonehenge Was Used to Work Gold

16 December 2022

16 December 2022

Archaeologists from the Universities of Leicester and Southampton in the United Kingdom recently published a study claiming that enigmatic artifacts...

Samen Underground City Getting Prepared for Public Visits

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Samen Underground City is a unique structure in Iran and the extent of such a structure has not been observed...

The new study presents evidence suggesting the use of threshing sledges in Neolithic Greece as early as 6500 BCE, about 3000 Years Earlier than Previously Thought

17 May 2024

17 May 2024

The threshing sledges, which until a few decades ago was used in many Mediterranean countries from Turkey to Spain to...