Unique sculpture uncovered in Hatay

Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay yesterday attended a ceremony aimed at displaying a 3,000-year-old statue of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma which was uncovered by an excavation team headed by the University of Toronto's Dr. Timothy P. Harrison in Tell Ta'yinat, a low-lying ancient tumulus near town of Reyhanli in the southern province of Hatay. Speaking at the ceremony, Gunay said that the statue was 1.5 meters long with a weight of 1.5 tons. "The head of the statue has a mustache and frizzy hair. Its arms are decorated with wristbands. It holds a lance in one hand, and a corn plant in the other. Its eyes are carefully decorated," Gunay said. Presenting the find, Gunay stated that the unusual artifact would be restored by the museum ahead of an upcoming exhibition at the Hatay Archeological Museum.