Roman and Greek statue heads were found in the ancient Greek city of Knidos

The excavations in the ancient city Greek city of Knidos, located in the Datça district of the southwestern province of Muğla, have unearthed five marble statue heads, one of which is female. The findings, approximately 2,000-years-old, date back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Muğla (pronounced [ˈmuːɫa]), formerly Mobolla (Greek: Μόμπολλα), is a city in south-western Turkey.

Officials reported that the head of the female statue belonged to the Goddess Tyche in Greek religion, the goddess of chance, with whom the Roman Fortuna was later identified; a capricious dispenser of good and ill fortune.

The Greek poet Hesiod called her the daughter of the Titan Oceanus and his consort Tethys; other writers attributed her fatherhood to Zeus, the supreme god.

The excavations in the ancient city have been carried out under the direction of Selçuk University Archeology Department Faculty member Ertekin Doksanaltı and the statue heads were found in the vicinity of the Corinthian Monument.

Doksanaltı said uninterrupted excavations have been carried out since 2016 in the ancient city within the framework of the 12-month excavation project of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Stating that they encountered such finds for the first time in a long time in Knidos, Doksanaltı said, “The statue heads have the classical period art features and attract attention with their beautiful and perfect details. Knidos is a very big city and these finds show us that we will encounter great surprises at any moment.”