9 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Sidamara, the largest sarcophagus of the Ancient World, got Eros relief 140 years later

The Sidamara Sarcophagus, which is considered to be one of the largest sarcophagi of the ancient world and weighs many tons, has received 140 years later its missing piece, the Eros Head.

The sarcophagus belonging to the 3rd century AD, which is known by this name because it is located in the village of Ambar, formerly Sidamara, on the Konya Ereğlisi-Karaman road in the center of Turkey, is known as the heaviest sarcophagus in the world with its weight of 32 tons. The artifact was found in 1900 and brought to Istanbul by Osman Hamdi Bey.

As a result of the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the piece brought to Turkey on June 10 was reunited with the historical artifact it belongs to.

Eros Head, which was transported from London to Turkey with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Turkish Airlines, was placed on the giant sarcophagus with a weight of more than 30 tons, with scientific studies carried out jointly by the expert restorers of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The Sidamara Sarcophagus. Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

The columned sarcophagus from the Roman Period was opened to visitors in its original form at the Istanbul Archeology Museum today.

The height of the marble sarcophagus is 313 cm, its length is 381 cm, and its width is 200 cm. On the front face of the sarcophagus, there is a man sitting in the dress of a philosopher in the middle, a young girl in the dress of Artemis on the right, and a woman in the dress of Demeter with a veil on the left. At the two ends of this face, the Dioscurians hold the bridles of the horses. On the narrow side of the sarcophagus, a woman walking towards the tomb door with a tray of fruit in her hand, and a bearded man is holding a roll on the other side of the door. On the other long side and the other narrow side of the sarcophagus, a hunting scene is engraved. The owner of the sarcophagus and his wife are lying on the lid of the sarcophagus. On the frieze on the pedestal of the sarcophagus, puttos and Eros fighting against predators can be seen, on the other hand, horses training and chariot races.

Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

The Challenging Journey of the Magnifience Artifact

It was understood that the Eros Head, one of the high reliefs separated from the sarcophagus, which was discovered by the British Military Consul General Charles Wilson in 1882 and was buried again because it could not be moved, was taken to London.

The sarcophagus, which was re-discovered by a villager in the ancient city of Sidamara in Karaman in 1898, was reported to the Museum-i Hümayun, which is now the Istanbul Archeology Museum.

The giant sarcophagus, which was decided to be moved to the museum in Istanbul as a result of Osman Hamdi Bey’s investigations in the region, was moved to the center pulling with buffaloes under the conditions of the time. The magnificent work, which made a grueling journey with the special arrangement of the train wagons, reached today’s Istanbul Archeology Museum in 1901. 

Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

The Eros Head relief found in London was donated by Marion Olivia Wilson to the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1933 in memory of her father, Charles Wilson.

A plaster copy of the Head of Eros was placed on the giant sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums as a result of the negotiations with the Victoria & Albert Museum officials in the 1930s.

In 2010, as a result of Doctor Şehrazat Karagöz’s research that brought the issue back to the agenda, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed the issue of exhibiting the Eros Head together with the sarcophagus to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

The cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Victoria & Albert Museum Director Dr. Tristram Hunt and his team aimed at the protection of cultural assets and their approach to the preservation of cultural assets in situ helped the Eros Head to be restored to its sarcophagus.

With the cooperation protocol signed between the Istanbul Archeology Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum, the missing piece of the sarcophagus was brought to Turkey and placed in its place.

Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Cover Photo: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Related Articles

Archaeologists discover traces of ancient Jalula, the city that witnessed the famous battle of the same name 1386 years ago

23 November 2023

23 November 2023

The  Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) has announced the discovery of the boundaries and various structures of...

Manot Cave yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeological research at the Manot Cave in what is now the Galilee in northern Israel has uncovered evidence of ritualistic...

INAH Archaeologists recover the coyote-man of Tacámbaro

26 January 2022

26 January 2022

Archaeologists win the coyote-man trial that lasted 30 years in Mexico. The litigation regarding the coyote-man of Tacámbaro, an important...

2800-year-old settlement discovered in Vadnagar, India

17 January 2024

17 January 2024

An excavation in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, about 900 km southwest of New Delhi, India, has found the remains of a settlement...

Bronze belt of Urartian warrior found in the ancient city Satala

29 May 2022

29 May 2022

During the excavations in the ancient city of Satala, located in the Kelkit district of Gümüşhane province in Turkey, a...

Burial of Ascetic Monk in Chains Reveals Surprising Identity: A Woman in Byzantine Jerusalem

15 February 2025

15 February 2025

A recent archaeological discovery near Jerusalem has challenged long-held beliefs about ascetic practices in the Byzantine era, revealing the remains...

Archaeologists discovered the earliest Iron Age house in Athens and Attica

26 May 2023

26 May 2023

A research team from the University of Göttingen discovered the earliest  Iron Age house in Athens and Attica. Archaeologists from...

Offerings to goddess Demeter uncovered in archaic temple on Crete island, Greek

17 November 2022

17 November 2022

Nestled between two mountain peaks overlooking the harbor, excavations in the ancient city of Phalasarna revealed hundreds of offerings to...

Rare gladiator tombs were discovered in the Ancient City of Anavarza in southern Türkiye

10 August 2022

10 August 2022

Archaeologists have discovered rare gladiator tombs in the ancient city of Anavarza, known as the “Invincible city” in history, which...

Ancient eggshell in the Northern Cape hiding 300,000 years of history

12 July 2021

12 July 2021

Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors....

The Surprising Fact About The Roman-Era Female Bust

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

50 years ago, foundation excavation work was started for the construction of Girls’ Institute in Akpınar Neighborhood of Bolu city...

The Largest Medieval Coins Treasure found in Recent Decades discovered in Germany

16 August 2024

16 August 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed one of the largest medieval coin hoards, consisting of approximately 1,600 coins, in recent years in the...

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,...

1,800-year-old Bronze military medal with Medusa head found in southeastern Turkey

5 October 2022

5 October 2022

A military medal believed to be almost 1,800 years old has been found by archaeologists in Turkey. The discovery was...

Places to Visit in Oman

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

There are many places to visit in Oman. In this article, we wanted to talk about a wonderful country that...