2,200-Year-Old Masks Found at Stratonikeia Antique City

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet newspaper, 8 September 2019)

Stratonikeia click here for UNESCO info.


               It was always Halloween at Stratonikeia.

In Muğla's Yatağan district, 17 masks carved in marble blocks and
thought to represent the mythological gods of the period have been
found at the 3,000-year-old Stratonikeia antique city, which is on
UNESCO's Temporary Cultural Heritage List.  It is estimated
that the masks are 2,200 years old. (!)


                                         Kinda scary.

An excavation team led by Prof. Dr. Bilal Söğüt of Pamukkale
University discovered the masks while working in the site's antique
theater's stage building. Dr. Söğüt explained that "the masks
contained in the reliefs we found were the most important element.
Previously, we had found 16 other masks here. All the masks were
found at both entrances to the theater and on the wall of the stage
building.  It is not unusual to find masks in theater excavations
but the masks we have found are a bit different in that they depict
many gods, godesses and humans of different cultures and beliefs.
In addition, the features on the masks we have found are more
pronounced that usual."



      Stratonikeia is just east of Yatağan in Muğla province.