Ancient Marble Statue Found Repurposed as Roman Paving Stone in Sardis

Archaeologists in Sardis, Turkey, have unearthed a seven-foot-tall marble statue of a young man holding a quince, dating to between 470 and 450 B.C.E. The sculpture, broken into two pieces and buried facedown, was later repurposed by the Romans as a paving stone, inadvertently preserving it. The discovery was announced by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The statue's style blends archaic and classical elements, with Lydian clothing, reflecting a transitional period. Nicholas Cahill, field director of the Sardis Expedition, expressed astonishment at the piece. The sculpture is missing its feet and some fragments. Researchers plan to clean and examine it for traces of paint, after which it will be displayed at the Manisa Museum. Sardis, once the capital of Lydia, was conquered by the Persians in 546 B.C.E. and later ruled by Greeks, Seleucids, and Romans. The city declined in the sixth century C.E. and was abandoned in the early 15th century. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The statue is the first of its kind found in Sardis, and archaeologist Hector Williams called it one of the most unusual pieces from western Turkey in recent decades.