In the ancient city of Metropolis, located in İzmir, Turkey, archaeologists uncovered approximately 2,000 fragmented bronze statues in an area believed to have been used as a junkyard in ancient times. Evidence suggests these statues were broken for the purpose of melting. The discoveries were made during excavations conducted under the Future Heritage Project of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in collaboration with the Sabancı Foundation, and are led by Professor Dr. Serdar Aybek from Dokuz Eylul University.
“For our profession, these are extraordinary finds,” said Professor Aybek, head of the excavation at the ancient city, according to Milliyet.
He explained that in the ancient age, bronze statues held great importance. “The fragmentation of the bronze statues, which constitute the majority of the finds, has special significance,” he said, as reported by Sozcu. Among the finds are pieces such as heads, eyes, fingers, and sandals.
“The plates show that there was an activity aimed at bronze statue production or repair in Metropolis,” Aybek concluded, according to Enikos. He emphasized the discovery of square and rectangular bronze plates along with the statue fragments.
“These cavities are used to close the holes formed by iron pins that hold the inner core during the mold stage, which is one of the production stages of the statue,” Aybek explained, according to Milliyet.
He drew attention to the fact that the statues were broken into pieces. “With the abandonment of mythological beliefs and the transition to monotheistic religions in Late Antiquity, and the dominance of Christianity in the region, mythological and past period bronze statues have been broken,” he continued, according to Haberler.
Aybek noted that among the finds are statue fragments from the Hellenistic period and figures from the Roman period. The ancient city of Metropolis, whose history dates back to the 3rd century BCE, was particularly important during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, being a vital part of trade and culture.
“Although there is no archaeological data yet to prove this claim, we can say that a large portion was used in coin minting because at that time, instead of re-manufacturing, the bronze group, mostly consisting of statues that had lost their validity and were damaged for various reasons, was prepared by the ancient period’s junk dealer to be melted,” Aybek stated, according to Enikos.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
