Turkey’s Council of Higher Education (YOK) announced in late August that nearly 2,000-year-old statues of Roman Emperor Hadrian and his wife, Empress Sabina, have been restored following their discovery at the ancient city of Kibyra.
Located in southwest Turkey along the Mediterranean coast, Kibyra came under Roman rule in 133 BCE as part of the province of Asia after the Roman Republic annexed the Attalid Kingdom.
The two statues were part of four discovered during recent excavations at the Monumental City Gate, one of the city’s key structures, led by a team from Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU).
After restoration, Hadrian’s statue stands approximately 2.14 meters tall and is crafted from high-quality marble sourced from the Afyon-Iscehisar region.
The portrait confirmed the statue belonged to Hadrian, making it a significant and rare depiction of the emperor found in Anatolia, explained MAKU Professor and Kibyra Excavation Director Dr. Sukru Ozudogru.
Total of 20 statue fragments found at site
Ozudogru explained that the statues were likely carved around 130 CE during Hadrian’s reign.
He added that they were likely commissioned ahead of Hadrian’s visit to the region, a common practice in the Roman period.
Hadrian’s statue is depicted in military garb, with a lion and eagle carved into the emperor’s armor.
Sabina’s statue, though standing at the same height as Hadrian’s, is less complete and still missing fragments that archaeologists hope to uncover in future excavations.
Additional finds at the gate dig site include another armored emperor statue standing roughly 1.86 meters tall, a female statue found in two separate upper and lower pieces, and a 30-centimeter-tall male statue head.
All four statues are believed to have been displayed on the upper part of the gate,
Özüdoğru said, explaining that they likely shattered after falling during the earthquake of 417 CE.
Once the four statues are restored as completely as possible, they will be carefully transported and put on display at the Burdur Museum.
In total, twenty statue fragments, including arms, legs, and feet, have been unearthed during excavations in the city.
Notably, a bust of the Graeco-Egyptian deity Serapis and a statue of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, were found in 2019, followed by an additional Asclepius statue and the head of a Serapis bust the following year.
Over 2,000 blocks moved since start of excavations
Ozudogru noted that excavations on the gate, which collapsed into a pile of blocks in antiquity, began in 2025.
Since then, about 2,500 blocks have been moved for classification and cataloguing.
According to him, the team expects to complete excavations of the structure in one more season, after which the project will move forward into the formal restoration and redesign of the ancient gateway.
“These efforts also allow us to better understand Anatolia’s history and the interaction between different civilizations,” said YOK President Erol Ozvar. “We consider it extremely important that our universities contribute to uncovering our history and cultural heritage through scientific research, passing these values on to future generations by preserving them.”
