Missing head of ancient Greek goddess statue discovered after 2,100 years

Explorers and archeologists are continuously discovering more pieces of the past, helping us to understand how the world was thousands of years before us.

Just when we think we’ve uncovered everything there is to know about ancient cultures, a new item is unearthed that changes everything.

This is exactly what happened earlier this year when a 21-year-long project to restore artifacts from ruins made two exciting finds dating back to ancient Greece.

The statue head of the Greek goddess was uncovered in May this year (Instagram/@laodikeiakazisi)

Ancient Greeks notably carved stone statues of their gods and many can be viewed in museums around the world.

But there are some that have been lost - either destroyed over time or buried and long forgotten under the ground.

The hunt for those missing pieces is the life-long work of many archeological teams, which is what was happening when a research group recently made some new discoveries in Turkey.

The ancient city of Laodicea on the Lycus, which is now near the modern-day city of Denizli in southwestern Turkey, was a trade spot by rivers long ago.

The discoveries were made in the ancient city of Laodicea on the Lycus (Ali Ihsan Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The area’s architecture reflects Greek culture with temples and an agora - which is an ancient Greek marketplace.

Although it was originally a city in ancient Greece, it didn’t stay in Greek hands for long and was taken over by Romans.

Researchers started a project back in 2003 for restorations of artifacts from the city and this year they have made two exciting discoveries in the ruins.

The first is a statue of Asclepius - the Greek god of medicine - which was uncovered near an ancient amphitheater.

Then in May 2024, a second discovery of the head of a statue of Hygieia - the goddess of health and hygiene - who is Asclepius’ daughter, was made.

Researcher Celal Simsek found the 2,100-year-old statue head (Instagram/@laodikeiakazisi)

The stone head of Hygieia is 2,100 years old, dating it back to the second century BCE, which was during the city’s Hellenistic period.

Finding the statue head, Celal Simsek, who is a researcher from Pamukkale University, took to X, formerly Twitter, to write that the discovery was: “the meeting of the Sun and Hygieia with us in Laodicea after 2,100 years.”

The goddess was an important figure in both ancient Greek and Roman mythology, and statues of her were often seen in healing centers or at temples dedicated to Asclepius.

The rest of Hygieia’s statue hasn’t yet been discovered but the excavations continue, so here’s hoping she will soon be complete and back to her former glory.