USAK, Türkiye
A statue estimated to be around 1,800 years old has been discovered in the ancient city of Blaundos, located in Türkiye’s western Usak province, archaeologists said on Friday.
The excavation took place at the site’s 2,000-year-old stadium, believed to have been built by Macedonian soldiers who settled in the area during Alexander the Great’s Anatolian campaign.
According to archaeologists, the statue was found embedded in the wall of the stadium, overlooking the deep valley formed by the Ulubey Canyon.
The statue, which has no head, arms or legs, has been transferred to the Usak Museum for preservation.
Serif Soyler, head of excavations and director of the museum, told Anadolu that the statue is a male figure 87 centimeters (34.25 inches) tall and 47 centimeters (18.5 inches) wide.
“It’s a beautifully crafted torso, which we preliminarily date to the 2nd century CE,” said the official, noting that it was repurposed as a filler stone during the Byzantine period and was naturally preserved within the wall.
Conservation and restoration work is underway at the museum, with future plans for public display once scientific analyses are complete.