Archaeologists have dig up up the remains of a grand statue at the ruin of an ancient citadel in Turkey . Although they are n’t certain of this orphic woman ’s identity , it ’s gainsay a lot of what we think we knew about char in the ancient Near East .
The remains of the basalt statue are just 1.1 meters ( 3.6 understructure ) although the researchers have worked out that it probably once stood up to 5 meters ( 16.4 understructure ) tall . They recently unearthed the remains at the archeologic site of Tell Tayinat in modern - day southeast Turkey , not far from the Syrian perimeter . This was once the site of Kunulua , the cap of the Iron Age Neo - Hittite Kingdom of Patina , until the Assyrian seduction of the site in 738 BCE .
“ Her striking features include a gang of curls that protrude from beneath a shawl that compensate her head , shoulders , and back , " Timothy Harrison , professor of near easterly archeology at the University of Toronto , tell ina statement .
" The statue was found face down in a thick bed of basalt stone chips that included shard - like fragment of her oculus , nozzle , and typeface , but also fragments of sculptures antecedently found elsewhere within the logic gate area , " say Harrison , " include the head of the Neo - Hittite King Suppiluliuma that we discovered in 2012 . "
“ The recovery of these lilliputian shard will make it possible to touch on much if not all of the case and upper body of the original figure . "
Nearby recruit memorial found around 50 years ago near Syria speak of a person name Kupapiyas , one of the only know named woman from this region in the first millenary BCE . Little is do it about her although she was doubtlessly of huge significance ; perhaps someone important enough to have sublime statues build for them .
" The uncovering of this statue raises the opening that women played a more outstanding role in the political and religious spirit of these early Iron Age communities than the survive historical phonograph recording might indicate , " Harrison pronounce .
" It is potential that she is a representation of Kubaba , inspired female parent of the god of ancient Anatolia , " say Harrison . " However , there are stylistic and iconographic hints that the statue present a human figure , possibly the wife of King Suppiluliuma , or even more intriguingly , a woman distinguish Kupapiyas , who was the wife – or possibly mother – of Taita , the dynastic founder of ancient Tayinat .
TheTayinat Archaeological Projecthas been excavating the situation since 1999 and since then archeologist been blessed with a seemingly eternal stream of incredible discoveries . Past study has revealedmassive Leo the Lion and sphinx sculpturesalso “ guarding ” the citadel gate complex , as well asa cache of inscribe tabletsdating back to the Iron Age period between 1200 and 600 BCE .
