Christianity ‘turned to archaeology to promote bible’ says expert
Archaeologists examining the ruins of the ancient town of Myra have discovered at least 50 terracotta figurines depicting humans, gods and animals. Researchers working for Akdeniz University and the Turkish state made the incredible discovery after excavating the town’s once-imposing 12,000-seat Roman-era theatre.
The archaeologists inside here stumbled-upon a treasure trove of figurines estimated to date back to the Hellenistic period.
Such a time frame coincides with Alexander the Great’s 323 BC death and the rise of the Roman Empire.
Dig leader Nevzat Cevik, an archaeologist at Akdeniz, described the ancient art discovery as “an unexpected big surprise.”
Archaeology news: A number of terracotta heads were found separated from the rest of their bodies (Image: Nevzat Çevik)
He said: “It is as if the people of ancient Myra were resurrected and ran through the time tunnel all together and came to our day.”
The statuettes, each standing only a few inches tall, include rams, horsemen, women with children and a boy carrying fruit.
Figures of deities were also found among the haul, including Leto, Artemis, Apollo and Heracles.
Mr Cevik added a few of the figures still bear faint remnants of red, blue and pink pigments used to decorate them.
And the base over the centuries fell under the control of different regional forces.
During this time, Myra was one of the most important towns in ancient Lycia, a confederation of maritime cities dating to the 14th century BC.
Then, in the sixth century BC, Persian forces conquered Lycia, which eventually fell under Roman control before becoming its own Roman province during the fourth century AD.
One of Myra’s most iconic historic features are the city’s tombs cut from rock.
Archaeology news: They also discovered a variety of ceramic, bronze, lead and silver objects around the terracottas (Image: Myra Andriake Excavations Archive/Nevzat Çevik)
Archaeology news: A 2,000-year-old figure discovery has been as a ‘time tunnel to ancient Myra’ (Image: Express)
