Mother goddess figurine found in İzmir

İZMİR – Demirören News Agency

Archaeological excavations in Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir’s Bornova district have recently ended after revealing an 8,200-year-old mother goddess figurine, fishing-related net weights, various kinds of jewelry items, as well as fish fossils and numerous mussels remains.

Thanks to the excavations, the previously believed history of the city to be 5,000 years old is now estimated to be 8,500 years instead, which is a notable revelation. Some nine villages at the site were also unearthed one after the other as the result of the excavations.

Besides, many remains from thousands of years ago such as sea bream, poisonous stingrays, sea urchins, oysters and mussels were found. It turned out that the first İzmir residents consumed seafood, especially mussels, 8,500 years ago, just like today’s dwellers.

The most striking find unearthed this year during the excavations in the ancient area was the 8,200-year-old headless marble mother goddess figurine. In addition to the figurine, another find, an 8,200-year-old glass, was also brought to the cultural treasure of the country.

Apart from the above, a large number of net weights related to fishing from the same period has also drawn attention. The presence of the fishing nets affirmed that the first inhabitants of İzmir were very interested in fishing, and they hunted the prey using these nets. Various jewelry items such as medallions and pendants were also among the findings.

Zafer Derin, associate professor and excavation director, stated that this year’s excavations ended after six months of rigorous work and that they would be giving the nearly 250 findings unearthed during the excavations to the İzmir Museum Directorate.