Major Find at Sagalassos August 2, 2007
Photos courtesy Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project

Colossal statue of the emperor Hadrian discovered



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A huge, exquisitely carved marble statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian is the latest find from Sagalassos, an ancient Greco-Roman city in south-central Turkey. Archaeologists estimate that the figure was originally between 13 and 16 feet in height (four to five meters). It is, says excavation director Marc Waelkens, one of the most beautiful portraits of Hadrian ever found.

The discovery was made by archaeologists from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), who, under Waelkens' direction, have been investigating the site since 1990. Last month a new excavation campaign started, and the Belgians resumed work at the Roman Bath, focusing on the southeastern corner of the complex.

On Sunday the first fragments of a over life-size statue, a foot and part of a leg, were unearthed. The foot is 31.5 inches (0.80 meters) long; the leg, from just above the knee to the ankle, is nearly five feet (1.5 meters). The elaborate sandal depicted on the footed indicated to the archaeologists that the fragments were from the statue of an emperor. On Monday, the almost intact head of the statue was discovered, revealing that the statue was of Hadrian, who ruled from A.D. 117 to 138. The head measures more than 27 inches (0.70 meters).

Construction of the bath complex in Sagalassos was started during Hadrian's reign, though the building was finished only several decades later. The bath complex is one of several major building projects at Sagalassos that can be dated to the time of Hadrian and the city had a sanctuary of the imperial cult dedicated to Hadrian and his successor Antoninus Pius.

The statue probably dates from the beginning of Hadrian's rule. For updates on the current excavation campaign, including any additional finds related to the Hadrian statue, see the Interactive Dig, City in the Clouds.

Wow - do you have a link to some photos?

Here you can see the photos re: Archeology in Sagalossos

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/hadrian/1.html

Exquisite worksmanship...I am always awed when I see these things! Thanks for sharing the link.

WOW Thank you!

The pictures are wonderful.

If any one else is wondering where Sagalassos is ... I looked it up on google and it is near Burdur, one of the provinces in the Lake District just north of Antalya.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.iconoclasm.dk/images/zeusolbios.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.iconoclasm.dk/%3Fcat%3D3%26paged%3D2&h=375&w=500&sz=131&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=NDoAJLqXlRMYmM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DUzuncabur%25C3%25A7%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

Thanks for your referral THE INDEPENT - amazing and interesting indeed:


Unearthed: a monument to the might of Hadrian
By Amol Rajan
Published: 11 August 2007
As ruler of the Roman Empire in a time of relative peace and prosperity, he was lauded for his military nous and patronage of the arts. Now, after one of the most exhilarating archaeological discoveries of recent times, Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus - popularly known as Hadrian - new life has been breathed into his reputation through a discovery made on a mountaintop in south-central Turkey.

Excavators have unearthed a head, foot, and part of a leg from a statue that, pieced together, might have stood up to 5 metres tall. Elegantly carved, the parts offer tantalising clues about the completed statue of the man who gave his name to Hadrian's Wall. Intricate details on a sandal carved on to the foot suggest that the main body may be dressed in military garb.

Aside from a broken nose, the head of the statue is almost completely intact, measuring 70cm (27in) long. The piece of leg, which extends from above the knee to the top of the ankle, also measures 70cm (27in) long. The foot is 80cm (31.5in) long.

The hunt is now on for other body parts. Thought to date from the early part of Hadrian's reign, archaeologists believe the statue was originally composed of separate pieces, which were welded together to create an imposing monument of the ruling emperor intended to symbolise his military dominance in the region.

Buried about 5 metres underground, the remains were found among ruins of a bathhouse in the ancient town of Sagalassos, in southern Turkey. The region is thought to have suffered a major earthquake between the late sixth and early seventh centuries, during which the bathhouse fell. Archaeologists believe the statue may have split into its constituent parts, which they hope will be deeper in the soil.

Hadrian was emperor from AD117 until AD138, ruling over one of the more peaceful periods in the turbulent history of Roman imperialism. Born AD76 into a wealthy family in Italica, close to the city of Seville in today's Spain, he was the third of "five good emperors", so-called by 18th century historian Edward Gibbon because they "governed by absolute power, under the guidance of wisdom and virtue".

The emperor often consolidated Rome's power by erecting permanent fortifications along the Empire's border. One such was Hadrian's Wall, built AD122 to prevent incursions from Caledonian tribes. Built across northern England, it extended west from Segedunum at Wallsend on the river Tyne to the Solway Firth, for a length of 73.5 miles.

The discovery was made by archaeologists from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, who have been excavating the area around Sagalassos from 1990.

Marc Waelkens, director of the excavation, said: "As a kind of thanks to the emperor, there were private and public monuments to Hadrian erected throughout the city".

His team also found a segment from a gilded bronze statue of the emperor, almost certainly paid for by one of Sagalassos's