Head of Telesphoros found after 34 years

The head of the Perge excavations and Antalya Museum Director Mustafa Demirel said that excavations had started in the ancient city back in 1946. 

He said that the sculpture of 2nd century A.D. Asclepius was found in two pieces by Turkey’s first female archaeologist, Professor Jale İnan, in the southern bath. 

The sculpture, which is made up of one foot, two pieces of a body (symbolizing Asclepius) and a child’s body (symbolizing Telesphoros), was brought to the museum. 

“Thirty-four years have passed since then. We were cleaning the street in front of the Hellenistic tower next to an ancient bath. We found a child’s head close to the surface. It was carried to the museum, where we saw that the head belonged to Telesphoros. The sculpture was in the backyard of the museum. Restorers confirmed it, and we then attached the head to the body,” said Demirel, adding that they hoped to find the sculpture’s other missing pieces.