8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A unique discovery in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, the city famous for its sculptors in the Roman World, “As if he were a breathing God”

A marble ‘Zeus head’ was found in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, located within the borders of the Geyre neighborhood in the Karacasu district of Aydın province in western Türkiye.

The artifact found during excavations in the ancient city of Aphrodisias was announced by Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye.

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, in his post with the note ‘A unique discovery in Aphrodisias’, said, ‘The marble head, which reunited with the light of day after centuries, exhibits the splendor of Zeus, the most powerful and important god in Greek mythology.’

The bearded colossal marble head, carved in relief as an architectural console or part of a console, was found inverted near the surface in an area 50 meters west of the Temple of Aphrodite.

The 66-centimeter-high marble head underwent preliminary cleaning and conservation to remove heavily solidified soil deposits.

Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Made from a single block of medium-grained Aphrodisas marble, the head has been dated by archaeologists to the 2nd-3rd century AD.

“As if he were a breathing God…”

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism made the following statement:  “The magnificent drill work on the hair and beard belongs to a top Aphrodisias sculpture workshop. The sophisticated depiction of the powerful divine image gives the head a powerful effect.

The delicate technique borrowed from portrait sculpture is used here to give the classical image of Zeus a more realistic, contemporary effect, as if he were a breathing god.

The head is an exceptional find of the highest quality and historical significance.”

Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Situated in the upper valley of the Morsynus River in southwest Turkey, the site is comprised of two parts: the northeastern marble quarries and the archaeological site of Aphrodisias. The city was constructed a century after the Aphrodite temple, which dates to the third century BC. Aphrodisias’s marble quarries and the sculptures created by its sculptors were the source of its wealth. Temples, a theater, an agora, and two bath complexes are among the major civic buildings that surround the city’s streets.

One of the main reasons Aphrodisias rose to prominence as a premier hub for the production of marble sculpture was the close proximity of the marble quarries to the city. City sculptors were well-known across the Roman Empire. They were renowned for their virtuoso portrait sculptures as well as their statues of gods and Dionysian figures in the Hellenistic style.

Aphrodisian sculptors were highly sought after in the major empire centers, such as Sardis, Stratonikeia, Laodikeia, Constantinople, and Rome, for their marble portrait busts and statues of emperors, governors, and philosophers in the late antiquity (4th–6th centuries AD). They were the most skilled marble statue carvers of the time. Because of the methods employed, the caliber of the regional artistic design, and the creation of sophisticated portrait sculpture, Aphrodisias occupied a special place in the Roman world.

Related Articles

A sanctuary for Cult God Mithras discovered in Germany

13 April 2023

13 April 2023

A place of worship for the Roman god of light, Mithras, was discovered during archaeological excavations in Trier, in southwestern...

Ancient settlements that challenge traditional thinking “Karahantepe and Taş Tepeler”

5 December 2021

5 December 2021

After Göbeklitepe in Şanlıurfa, which sheds light on 12,000 years ago in human history and is considered one of the...

New Study Reveals That the First English Settlers in North America Ate Dogs to Survive

28 May 2024

28 May 2024

The first English settlers to arrive in North America ate indigenous dogs to survive an extreme period of starvation, according...

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...

In French Necropolis 21 Roman “curse tablets” discovered including one written in the extinct Celtic language of Gaulish

18 January 2025

18 January 2025

During the excavation of an eighteenth-century hospital in north-western France by researchers from the Orléans Archaeological Service, a 2,000-year-old necropolis...

A unique gold brooch talisman with inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew was found in the UK

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

A Medieval gold annular brooch with prayerful inscriptions has been discovered in the parish of Manningford in Wiltshire, in the...

13th-Century skeletons Unearthed in Annaea Mound

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

At the historical Kadıkalesi archaeological site in Turkey’s western Aydin province’s Kuşadası district, a total of five skeletons thought to...

Drought unveils sunken basilica in Turkey

14 October 2022

14 October 2022

The sunken basilica remains discovered in 2014 became visible as a result of Lake Iznik’s water withdrawal. Climate change is...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

The Colchester Vase: New Analyses Uncover Evidence of Gladiatorial Combat in Roman Britannia

23 February 2025

23 February 2025

The Colchester Vase, dating back to A.D. 160–200, is not just a ceramic artifact; it is considered a unique graphic...

Scientists Uncover 22,000-Year-Old Evidence of Prehistoric Transport

9 March 2025

9 March 2025

In a remarkable glimpse into the ingenuity of our early ancestors, recent research reveals that 22,000 years ago, humans may...

The oldest grave in northern Germany 10,500 years old

14 October 2022

14 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known human remains in northern Germany in a 10,500-year-old cremation grave in Lüchow, Schleswig-Holstein. The...

Mystery ax discovered off the coast of Arendal of Norway

26 July 2021

26 July 2021

Researchers have discovered a find that could be a first for Norwegian archeology. A hollow ax, which researchers believe dates...

2,600-year-old Terracotta Pipeline found in India

11 August 2024

11 August 2024

During the 10th phase of archaeological excavations at the Keeladi archaeological site in Tamil Nadu, India, archaeologists uncovered a terracotta...

Japan’s Ancient Practice Of Cranial Modification: Hirota people in Tanegashima

21 August 2023

21 August 2023

A team of researchers from Kyushu University and the University of Montana has found evidence suggesting that the Hirota community,...