1,800 Years Old Woman Sculpture in the Ancient City of Metropolis

On 12 June, Turkish officials announced the discovery of an 1800-year-old statue of a woman in Izmir.

An 1800-year-old statue has been discovered in the ancient city of Metropolis, located in İzmir’s Torbalı district, according to the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Department of Excavations.

Metropolis is 40 kilometers from Izmir (Greek Smyrna) and 45 kilometers from Ephesus, the world’s most famous ancient city.

According to a tweet from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Department of Excavations, the statue was discovered in the ancient city of Metropolis, which is located in İzmir’s Torbalı district.

“Our excavations will continue in 2021,” it said, sharing a 39-second video showing the process of unearthing the ancient statue.

Since 1990, when excavations began, the ancient city of Metropolis, also known as the “City of Mother Goddess,” has been a treasure trove for archaeologists. They have discovered evidence of several civilizations from the first settlements in the Late Neolithic Age through the Classical Age, from the Hellenistic Age to the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras.

Four interconnected cisterns were discovered during last year’s excavations in the ancient city, which revealed many massive monuments. 

Metropolis Ancient City excavations are carried out by the excavation team headed by Celal Bayar University Archeology Department Head Academic Member Serdar Aybek.

Sabancı Foundation supports the excavations of the Metropolis Ancient City.