9 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

1800-year-old statue head found in Ancient Smyrna Theater in western Turkey

A statue head dated to the 2nd century AD was unearthed during the excavations at the Ancient Smyrna Theater, located on the slope between Izmir, Kadifekale, and the Smyrna Agora.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Department of Excavations announced on Twitter that a head of a statue dating to the 2nd century AD had been discovered.

It also shared a 33-second video showing the process of unearthing the ancient statue.

During the excavations of İzmir Katip Çelebi University, a statue head with human head measurements was found in the area called ‘Eastern Vomitorium’. It was determined that the head of the statue symbolizes the mythological being Satyros (Satyr) and was made in the 2nd century AD.

During the Hellenistic Period, Smyrna was relocated to its present position after outgrowing its first colony in Bayraklı. Rapidly developing into a trading hub, the town reached its highlight during the Roman Empire.  By the second century CE, Smyrna had grown into a large Roman metropolis that stretched from Kadifekale to Konak, from Eşrefpaşa to Halkapınar, whose ruins can still be seen today in the Konak district’s Çankaya area.

Smyrna according to the geographer Strabo “It is the most beautiful of all cities.” Smyrna owed its charm to its architectural structures and city plan.

Smyrna Ancient Theater reconstruction

It gets its share of these praises in the ancient theater. The first information about the Smyrna Theater can be found in Vitruvius’ De Architectura. Vitruvius (V.IX.1) notes that there was a portico called Stratonikeion adjacent to or in the immediate vicinity of the skene (scene) building of the Smyrna Theatre. He praises the fact that such a portico was planned around the theater and shows it as an example for other cities.

The theater, which was built on the northern slope of Pagos (Kadifekale) hill, has a position to watch İzmir Bay and Smyrna from an angle that can be called visually perfect. It is not known when the theater was built for the first time. It is possible that it was built in the 1st century BC, probably because it was the subject of the writings of Vitruvius. The theater was repaired during the reign of Emperor Claudius, possibly after an earthquake during the Roman imperial period, but it is thought that it took its final form with the repairs and additions made after the earthquake in 178 AD.

Related Articles

New Hittite Tablet Reveals Luwian Songs on the Fall of Troy

1 April 2025

1 April 2025

The Trojan War is one of the most famous legends of Greek mythology, yet its historicity remains a topic of...

Polish archaeologists discovered new petroglyphs dating back to the 3rd century in Colorado

14 December 2023

14 December 2023

Archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University, southern Poland, have made a significant discovery of ancient indigenous paintings and carvings in the...

Centuries-old burials discovered near Antandros Ancient City in Turkey

10 January 2022

10 January 2022

Ancient tombs were discovered during a foundation excavation at a building site near the ancient city of Antandros, which is...

Egypt unearths ancient quarters of mining leader in the Sinai Peninsula during the Middle Kingdom

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently that an Egyptian archaeological mission working in Wadi Al-Nasab in South...

In the backstage of Smyrna Ancient Theater Latrina found

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

Interesting finds unearthed during the excavations of the 2400-year-old Ancient City of Smyrna in the Aegean region of Turkey continue...

New research determines portable toilets of the ancient Roman world

11 February 2022

11 February 2022

New research published today reveals how archeologists can determine when a pot was used by Romans as a portable toilet,...

In Lviv, Ukraine, a secret room where Jews were hiding in city sewers during the Nazi Holocaust has been unearthed

7 November 2021

7 November 2021

In the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, diggers have uncovered new hiding spots in underground sewers where some Jews managed...

Earliest Known Stone Mold for Coin Production in Roman Hispania Unearthed

27 March 2025

27 March 2025

Researchers from the University of Jaén have made a groundbreaking discovery at the archaeological site of Obulco, modern-day Porcuna, revealing...

A 1,100-year-old lead amulet of Bulgarian soldiers sieges Constantinople found

31 March 2023

31 March 2023

A lead plate amulet bearing an inscription in Cyrillic dating from the times of Tsar Simeon the Great was discovered...

Archaeologists Discovered 1,500-Year-Old Maya Palace in Mexico

25 September 2023

25 September 2023

Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) archaeologists have discovered a palace at an ancient Maya city in southeastern...

East and West Meeting at the King’s Dinner Table

7 April 2021

7 April 2021

Researchers from Tezukayama University and the Uzbekistan Archaeological Institute reported that a food pantry about 37 feet long and 10...

A pre-Hispanic ceremonial center with unknown characteristics was discovered in the Andes

15 April 2023

15 April 2023

While investigating at Waskiri, near the Lauca River and the Bolivian-Chilean border, archaeologists found an impressive circular construction on a...

The marble head of God Apollo unearthed in an excavation at Philippi, Greece

29 March 2024

29 March 2024

The excavation, carried out by a group of students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the archaeological site of...

Hidden Royal Trove of rulers of Poland and Lithuania discovered in the underground vaults of Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania

17 January 2025

17 January 2025

A unique find was made in the dungeons of the Vilnius Cathedral: The royal funerals of the Polish and Lithuanian...

4,500-year-old rare Canaanite goddess sculpture found by a farmer in Gaza Strip

25 April 2022

25 April 2022

A farmer in the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, found a rare 4,500-year-old stone sculpture while...