The body of a statue was found six years ago during excavations in the ancient city, which was founded under the name Apollonia in the Hellenistic period and later renamed Tripolis. This season, the excavation team discovered the head of the statue.
The ancient city of Tripolis is located in Denizli province. It developed under the influence of various cultures such as Lydia, Phrygia, and Caria, and became an important city during the Roman period.
The head of the statue, dated to the 4th century AD and whose body was found in 2018, has also been unearthed, as announced by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, on his social media account.
In his video message, Ersoy stated: ‘During the excavations at the ancient city of Tripolis, the missing head of a statue belonging to a high-ranking public official, dated to the 4th century AD, has been unearthed. This statue, belonging to the public official named Antonius Philagrios, had its body found in 2018 and has been preserved at the Denizli Hierapolis Archaeology Museum. Now, with all the pieces coming together, history will come to life again.’
