Archaeologists have revealed new details about the discovery of a monumental marble statue of a young man in the ancient city of Sardis in the Salihli region of western Turkey. The sculpture, nearly 2.5 thousand years old, was found broken into two large parts and recycled in the paving of a Roman street.
Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the discovery on August 3. According to the ministry’s official statement, the statue was discovered by members of the Harvard-Cornell archaeological expedition at the end of May while exploring a Roman-era colonnaded street at the entrance to the ancient city.
The sculpture was divided into two main parts and laid face down in the pavement as a recycled building material. This position helped preserve facial features and other details. However, the statue’s feet and several small fragments have not yet been found. The preserved height of the figure is 2.2 m. Parts of the statue were removed from the pavement on July 13 and taken to the expedition’s restoration laboratory for further study.
The young man is depicted in a thin chiton, a thick himalaya and another piece of clothing with unusual horizontal folds. This combination is practically not found in famous ancient Greek and Anatolian sculptures. Experts admit that the additional items of clothing reflect local Lydian traditions.
The vertical pose of the figure, the long coiffed hair and the nature of the clothing resemble archaic Greek statues of the 6th century BC. However, the pronounced veins, the structure of the face, hands and other anatomical details correspond to a later artistic tradition. Based on these signs, the statue was dated to 470–450 BC, the early classical period.
By this time, Sardis had already ceased to be the capital of the independent Lydian kingdom and was the administrative center of the Achaemenid empire. At the same time, the researchers did not see a pronounced Persian influence in the figure’s appearance.
Nicholas Cahill, head of the expedition’s field work, professor of Greek and Roman art and archaeology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted that monumental sculptures of this time and size are extremely rare in the Mediterranean. In his opinion, the combination of anatomical details modern for the 5th century BC with clothing from an earlier period may indicate a conscious appeal by the inhabitants of Sardis to the Lydian past.
The Lydian kingdom occupied part of western Anatolia from about the middle of the seventh to the middle of the sixth century BC. There are few Lydians’ own written sources, so for a long time information about their culture was based mainly on the works of Greek and Roman authors. Archaeological finds indicate that Sardis was a major center of luxury and culture, known, in particular, for perfumery and expensive clothing.
In his right hand, the figure holds an object that researchers believe to be a fruit, possibly a quince. Scientists admit that it could have been intended as an offering to the deity. However, the exact meaning of this element has not yet been established.
The identity of the depicted man and the original location of the statue remain unknown. According to one version, she could be in the sanctuary of the local mother goddess Cybele, described by ancient authors, but still not found. Such images could have been commissioned by rulers, politicians, or wealthy townspeople who wanted to present themselves next to a revered deity. In the case of the Sardinian statue, this is still a hypothesis.
Restorers are examining the marble surface for preserved paint particles, as the antique statues may have been painted originally. After the completion of scientific study and conservation, the parts of the sculpture will be connected.
