Yesemek Quarry and Statue Workshop

Yesemek Outdoor Museum is located on a hillside facing the southeast by the village of Yesemek, which is about 23 km to Islahiye, Gaziantep. The hillside is covered with many grey and violet basalt rocks known as dolerite. Yesemek site was first spotted by Felix Von Luschan while he was excavating at Zincirli in the 1890s. The initial research and excavations were done by Prof. Bahadır Alkım in 1958–1961, during which about 200 rough statues were uncovered. Further excavations were carried out in 1988–1991 by İlhan Temizsoy, and since 2019 more research is conducted in an enlarged area by Atilla Engin. Yesemek is the largest known sculpture workshop in the ancient Near East. Near the top of the hill, one can find the remnants of the quarry where the rocks were cut out. The number of uncovered statues exceeds 600 and more are believed to be still underground. Regarding the date of the site, differing opinions have been expressed. However, upon extended surveys conducted by Atilla Engin, a date towards the end of the Hittite Empire period has been more securely established. One of the unique and important finds of the site is a fragmentary human statue with Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription.

In 2005 the site was organized into an outdoor museum by the commissioning of the Gaziantep Museum. Incredibly, despite the fact that the Yesemek was nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 2017 a dam construction project was allowed to take place right next to the hill, visibly causing damage to the archeological site (see last image below).


Click on the pictures for larger images.

Sphinxes



Gate Lions


Mountain Gods


Others


The Quarry