Ancient God and Goddess Figurines Unearthed in Kültepe Dated 4,500 Years Old

The god and goddess figurines were unearthed at the Kültepe Kaniş/Karum Mound in the province of Kayseri, in Central Anatolia. The experts have dated them as being 4,300-4,500 years ago. This put their dates of creation around 2300-2500 BCE. The statuettes were discovered some undisclosed time earlier this year and will be temporarily displayed in the Kayseri Museum.

“We have found 15 more idols (statuettes) this year. Excavations continue in this area. The structure we have excavated is probably a very large and unique place in Anatolia, with formal and religious characteristics. The idols unearthed from here are artifacts showing the beliefs of Anatolian people as the beings they worshipped 4,500 years ago. Some of them were portrayed as sitting on the throne, and some are schematic. These are the artifacts that are not found anywhere but Kültepe. It is exciting that you find an artifact that a person worshipped 4,500 years ago with your hand.”
– Professor Fikri Kulakoğlu,
Head of the Kültepe excavation team from the Faculty of Languages and History and Geography at Ankara University

The mound has been excavated for the last 72 years and is important because it contains the alleged remains of the first Hittite city ever founded in Anatolia. These aren’t the first statuettes that these excavations have turned up. They found more in bulk during excavations in 2017.

While not much information has yet been released about these statues, I will be keeping my eye out for more info. I figure with time, and probably after the limited time exhibition, a more detailed analysis of the statuettes will be published. For now, only brief news of the discovery has been released.

The cover photo for this article was taken by AA and shows archeologists working on the site on September 14th, 2020.

This is one of many fascinating finds from this year. Just earlier this month, the largest mammoth graveyard ever yet discovered was unearthed in Mexico and a magnificent ancient royal estate was unearthed in Jerusalem. Towards the end of August, a Viking settlement was discovered in Istanbul and teens found rare 24 karat gold medieval coins. In June, news was released that a large ancient cemetery was discovered in China and an ancient map was found on a huge volcanic stone.

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References:

[1] – https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/new-deity-figurines-unearthed-at-central-turkeys-kultepe-site/news. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

[2] – https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/new-god-goddess-figurines-found-in-kultepe-158284. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

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