19 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

5,000 years old Mother Goddess statuette unearthed in Yeşilova Mound

A Mother Goddess statuette, determined to be 5 thousand years old, was found during the excavations carried out in the Yeşilova Mound (Yeşilova Höyük) in the Bornova district, which contains the ruins of the oldest settlement in Izmir.

The mound dates back to 8,500 years. The mound that is being excavated, has already revealed some critical traces of The Neolithic Age and much about the early settlers in the Izmir area off the Aegean coast, their surroundings, and their culture.

The Yesilova mound excavation has been in progress since 2005.  The discovery was made during the excavations at the mound under the leadership of Associate Professor Dr. Zafer Derin from the Department of Archaeology at Ege University.

It was announced that the height of the 5 thousand-year-old female goddess figurine made of terracotta material was 10 centimeters.

Photo: DHA

In his profound statement, he stated that a similar statuette of a naked woman with her hair pulled back was found in the Thermi region of Lesbos.

Associate Professor Dr. Zafer Derin explained, “Similar pieces can be found in the Thermi region on Lesbos in the Aegean Islands. However, the piece we discovered dates back 500 years earlier than those on Lesbos. This discovery suggests a cultural exchange that extended towards the Northern Aegean islands and even into the Balkans,”.

The Great Mother Goddess was a representation of the nurturing aspect of the divine feminine, which was connected to ideas of creation and fertility in many ancient societies. Long before patriarchal religions gained dominance, the Goddess religion was practiced in many parts of the ancient world.

Photo: DHA

The Mother Goddess, often known as Mother Earth, is a matriarchal archetype represented frequently in ancient art and found in various mythologies around the world.

One of the oldest representations of female forms was discovered in the village of Willendorf in Austria. It is known as Venus of Willendorf and it is estimated to have been made in Paleolithic times, between 25,000-20,000 BCE.

Cover Photo: DHA

Related Articles

An 8500-year-old wooden ladder remain was discovered at Çatalhöyük

12 April 2022

12 April 2022

Remains of the wooden ladder were discovered for the first time in Çatalhöyük, one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in...

A Remarkable Discovery from a Gaza Shipwreck: Olive Pits from 1100 Years Ago

10 March 2025

10 March 2025

The recent underwater excavations off the coast of Türkiye have unveiled an extraordinary find that has captivated scientists: olive pits...

World’s Oldest Evidence of Wick Use Discovered in 4,000-Year-Old Lamps in Israel

31 August 2025

31 August 2025

Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered one of the oldest known pieces of evidence for wick use in the world—4,000-year-old textile...

Archaeologists Find One of the Long-Lost Holy Cities in Jordan

13 July 2025

13 July 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in Jordan has brought one of the Holy Land’s long-lost cities back to light. Researchers now...

6,000-Year-Old “Kołobrzeg Venus”: A Remarkable Neolithic Discovery on the Baltic Coast

20 June 2025

20 June 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery has emerged from the sandy shores of Poland’s Baltic coast near Kołobrzeg—a 6,000-year-old female figurine now...

Researchers able to reconstruct the development of Barbegal’s former watermills over time with the help of carbonate deposits

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

Archaeologists are faced with a difficult task: how can information be obtained about buildings or facilities of which – if...

Zeugma of the Black Sea to be will Restore

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hadrianaupolis Antique City is located 3 km west of Eskiyapar district of Karabük. This ancient city has been known as...

Two unique mid-14th-century shipwrecks discovered in Sweden

22 April 2023

22 April 2023

During an archaeological dig in western Sweden this summer, the remains of two medieval merchant vessels known as cogs were...

Ancient Jordanian town referred to as Heshbon in the Old Testament provides insight into regional agricultural history

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

The American archaeologist stated that Tell Hisban, located on the Madaba plains of Jordan, represents the “granary of the empires”....

Slavic settlement and burial ground with two unusual graves discovered in Saxony-Anhalt

7 August 2024

7 August 2024

Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt have uncovered a wealth of medieval treasures,...

A Child’s Skeleton was Unearthed During the Tozkoparan Mound Excavations

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

The skeleton of a child was unearthed during the rescue excavations carried out in the Tozkoparan mound located in Tozkoparan...

An extraordinary votive treasure was unearthed in the ancient Roman bath sanctuary of San Casciano Dei Bagni in Italy

7 August 2022

7 August 2022

In San Casciano Dei Bagni, a Tuscan hill town famous for its hot springs, 40 miles southeast of Siena, unique...

A rare bronze talismanic healing bowl was discovered in Hasankeyf excavations

3 December 2023

3 December 2023

During the ongoing excavations in the Hasankeyf mound in Batman, one of the oldest settlements in the world, an 800-year-old...

A Mysterious Chapel Discovered in Istanbul Bagcılar

3 August 2023

3 August 2023

While Istanbul continues to surprise with the richness of its historical heritage, this time a chapel was discovered in Bağcılar....

5700-year-old monumental Menga Dolmen reveals it as one of the greatest feats of Neolithic engineering

6 December 2023

6 December 2023

A new investigation tracing the source of the gigantic stones that make up the Menga dolmen in southern Spain reveals...