Perge’s Western Street reveals more statues

Each time I visit the Archaeological Museum of Antalya, there is something new to be seen. The Museum is expanding continually and just recently an entirely new section centered around the Western Street of Perge has been added.

The wealth of Perge seems to be endless and the latest discovery of a more than life-size statue of Emperor Caracalla has made the headlines. Caracalla, whose full name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, seems to have been very fond of Perge and his 2.2 meters high statue is the largest ever found. It stood at the junction of the Western Street and the Northern Bath to enhance the so-called Caracalla Fountain. The emperor only misses his right hand that is supposed to have held an unknown object above his head. He still wears the insignia of the eagle and the Medusa head; his head was crowned with a Corona Civica, a series of oak leaves woven into a crown.

Other finds include statues of Aphrodite, Tyche, Nemesis, Asclepius, Helios and Selene, beside those of a snake, a horse, a man and a woman.

Excavations at Perge have been ongoing for the past 70 years now and it is quite amazing that the flow of discoveries is still so enticing.