Excavations ongoing in the ancient city of Patara in the southern province of Antalya have revealed two figurines dating to approximately 3,000 and 7,000 BCE. According to reports, the stone figurines reveal the connection between the Bronze Age and Anatolian cultures.
     One figurine is made of earthenware, and highlights the importance of the Patara Port in ancient times. The figurine from the eastern Mediterranean depicts the goddess Astarte, goddess of fertility. Although it reflects the artistic features of Ionian civilisation, the Astarte figurine was found along with Cypriot ceramics.
     The head of the excavations, Professor Havva İşkan Işık at Akdeniz University’s Archaeology Department, said the history of Lycia would be rewritten with these new findings.

Edited from Hurryiet Daily News (19 August 2014)