25 March 2023 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.

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.

Banner
Related Post

Unique Scythian glass pendants found in the Poltava region of Ukraine

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed unique amphora-shaped pendants near the town of Kotelva in the Poltava oblast of central Ukraine. A team...

In a Wisconsin lake, archaeologists discover a 1,200-year-old dugout canoe

6 November 2021

6 November 2021

Maritime archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society have discovered a dugout wooden canoe in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, USA. Carbon analysis...

HS2 archaeologists discover Romanization of Iron Age village in Britain

12 January 2022

12 January 2022

Archaeologists have uncovered a vast Roman trading town on Britain’s HS2 high-speed rail route. Evidence found during a dig of...

Maya Farmers May Have Planned Population Growth Contrary to Thought

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Contrary to what was thought, Maya farmers may have planned for population growth, says a new study. According to a...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

The ancient city of Karkamış “House of the Seal” brings a different perspective to the Hittite-Assyrian relations with its important finds

6 May 2022

6 May 2022

Historical artifacts discovered during excavations by Turkish and Italian teams in the ancient city of Karkamış (Carchemish) in southern Gaziantep...

Flying reptile discovered in Scotland dubbed ‘Jurassic fighter jet’

24 February 2022

24 February 2022

The jawbone of a 170 million-year-old pterosaur, described as the world’s best-preserved skeleton of the prehistoric winged reptile, was discovered...

The New Study, Reveals Invisible Stews

25 November 2022

25 November 2022

New Results of Organic Residue Analyzes of Beveled Rim Bowls in Mesopotamia Reveal Invisible Stews. The world’s first urban state...

Researchers may have found the wreck of British explorer James Cook’s Endeavour

3 February 2022

3 February 2022

The wreck of Captain James Cook’s famed vessel the Endeavour has been found off the coast of the U.S. state...

30 Graves Found in the Basilica-Planned Ancient City

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Kibyra ancient city is situated south of Turkey, located in the town Gölhisar in the southwestern part of Burdur Province,...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

The Bronze Sacred Sanxingdui Tree Number 3 is Being Restored

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

According to the announcement of the Sanxingdui Museum, archaeologists have begun to assemble and restore the No. 3 bronze sacred...

New discoveries show that Claros continued to serve as an oracle center after Christianity

14 September 2022

14 September 2022

Game boards and forked cross motifs dating to the fifth and seventh centuries AD were discovered at the ancient Greek...

3D virtual reconstruction of the Celtic city gate

2 May 2022

2 May 2022

A new 3D virtual reconstruction of the Celtic gate has been made in Staffelberg, in the German state of Bavaria....

Multiple Burials found at Çatalhöyük

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

Multiple burials were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the house on the eastern mound of the Neolithic settlement Çatalhöyük....

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *