Mount Nemrut: History and age of the stone sculptures
The stone sculptures at Mount Nemrut are approximately 2,050 years old. They were commissioned in the 1st century BC by King Antiochus I of the ancient Kingdom of Commagene. UNESCO identifies the monument as a royal tomb-sanctuary built to honor the king, the gods, and his ancestors.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
How old are the statues?
Estimated construction period
Around 69–34 BC
Age in 2026
About 2,050 years
Height of major statues
Approximately 8–10 m
UNESCO World Heritage listing
1987
The king's reign is known, but the entire monument was not necessarily completed in one particular year.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
These sculptures are not prehistoric statues. They were made during the Hellenistic period, when Greek artistic traditions mixed with Persian and Anatolian traditions.
Who built Mount Nemrut, and why?
The builder was Antiochus I Theos, who ruled the small Kingdom of Commagene in southeastern Anatolia.
His kingdom lay near the Euphrates River, between the worlds of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms and the Persian cultural sphere.
He built this extraordinary sanctuary for three main reasons:
Religious devotion: to honor the gods and establish a lasting royal cult.
Royal legacy: to associate himself with divine figures and his royal ancestors.
Political identity: to demonstrate that Commagene united Greek and Persian traditions rather than belonging entirely to either world.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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What do the giant stone heads represent?
Zeus-Oromasdes
The chief god, combining the Greek Zeus with the Persian god Ahura Mazda.
apollo-Mithras-Helios-Hermes
A combined divine figure reflecting Greek and Iranian religious traditions.
Heracles-Artagnes
A powerful heroic deity associated with strength.
King Antiochus I
The king placed his own image among the gods, emphasizing his exceptional royal status.
The monument also includes statues of an eagle and a lion, plus reliefs showing the king and his ancestors. The eastern and western terraces originally displayed similar monumental figures.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı
+1
One interesting comparison: Mount Nemrut's statues are about 2,050 years old, whereas the famous human figurines from Dolní Věstonice in today's Czech Republic date to roughly 29,000–25,000 years ago. Those prehistoric figurines are much older, but they are small objects rather than monumental statues.
内姆鲁特山（Mount Nemrut）：石雕的历史与年代
内姆鲁特山的石雕距今已有约 2050 年的历史。它们由古代科马基尼王国（Kingdom of Commagene）的安条克一世（Antiochus I）于公元前 1 世纪下令建造。联合国教科文组织将该遗址认定为一座皇家陵墓兼圣殿，旨在纪念国王本人、诸神及其祖先。
联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心
预计建造时期
约公元前 69 年至公元前 34 年
截至 2026 年的年限
约 2050 年
主要雕像高度
约 8–10 米
列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录时间
1987 年
虽然国王的在位时期明确可知，但整座遗址未必是在某一年内完全建成的。
联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心
这些雕塑并非史前遗物。它们制作于希腊化时期（Hellenistic period），当时希腊艺术传统与波斯及安纳托利亚传统相互融合。
建造者是安条克一世·特奥斯（Antiochus I Theos），他曾统治位于安纳托利亚东南部的科马基尼小王国。
他的王国坐落在幼发拉底河附近，地处希腊塞琉古王国（Seleucid kingdoms）与波斯文化圈之间。
他建造这座非凡圣殿主要出于三个原因：
联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心
宙斯-奥罗马兹德（Zeus-Oromasdes）
主神，结合了希腊的宙斯（Zeus）与波斯的阿胡拉·马兹达（Ahura Mazda）。
阿波罗-密特拉-赫利俄斯-赫耳墨斯（Apollo-Mithras-Helios-Hermes）
一个复合神祇形象，反映了希腊与伊朗的宗教传统。
赫拉克勒斯-阿尔塔格内斯（Heracles-Artagnes）
一位与力量相关、强大的英雄神祇。安条克一世国王
国王将自己的形象置于众神之中，以此彰显其非凡的王室地位。
该遗址还包括鹰和狮子的雕像，以及描绘国王及其祖先的浮雕。东侧和西侧的平台原本都展示着类似的巨型雕像。
联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心
这些头像在漫长的岁月中从原本的位置掉落下来。地震、风化以及其他自然作用可能是造成这一现象的原因。如今，雕像的躯体仍留在基座上，而许多头像则散落在下方的地面上。
雕像后方是一座由碎石堆成的人工巨冢，高约50米，直径约145米。据信，这里覆盖着国王的墓葬区，但目前尚未确切找到墓室的具体位置。
联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心
1881年，德国工程师卡尔·塞斯特（Karl Sester）报告了这一遗址，这些巨型头像由此进入现代考古学的视野。此后，考古学家对该遗址进行了多次考察与研究，其中包括始于1953年的考古工作。1987年，该遗址被列入联合国教科文组织《世界遗产名录》。
土耳其文化与旅游部
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一个有趣的对比：内姆鲁特山的雕像距今约2050年；而位于当今捷克共和国境内的多尔尼·维斯托尼采（Dolní Věstonice）出土的著名人像，其历史可追溯至约29,000至25,000年前。这些史前人像虽然年代更为久远，但它们属于小型器物，而非巨型雕像。
Mount Nemrut: History and age of the stone sculptures
The stone sculptures at Mount Nemrut are approximately 2,050 years old. They were commissioned in the 1st century BC by King Antiochus I of the ancient Kingdom of Commagene. UNESCO identifies the monument as a royal tomb-sanctuary built to honor the king, the gods, and his ancestors.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Estimated construction period
Around 69–34 BC
Age in 2026
About 2,050 years
Height of major statues
Approximately 8–10 m
UNESCO World Heritage listing
1987
The king's reign is known, but the entire monument was not necessarily completed in one particular year.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
These sculptures are not prehistoric statues. They were made during the Hellenistic period, when Greek artistic traditions mixed with Persian and Anatolian traditions.
The builder was Antiochus I Theos, who ruled the small Kingdom of Commagene in southeastern Anatolia.
His kingdom lay near the Euphrates River, between the worlds of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms and the Persian cultural sphere.
He built this extraordinary sanctuary for three main reasons:
Political identity: to demonstrate that Commagene united Greek and Persian traditions rather than belonging entirely to either world.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
+1
Zeus-Oromasdes
The chief god, combining the Greek Zeus with the Persian god Ahura Mazda.
apollo-Mithras-Helios-Hermes
A combined divine figure reflecting Greek and Iranian religious traditions.
Heracles-Artagnes
A powerful heroic deity associated with strength.
King Antiochus I
The king placed his own image among the gods, emphasizing his exceptional royal status.
The monument also includes statues of an eagle and a lion, plus reliefs showing the king and his ancestors. The eastern and western terraces originally displayed similar monumental figures.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı
+1
One interesting comparison: Mount Nemrut's statues are about 2,050 years old, whereas the famous human figurines from Dolní Věstonice in today's Czech Republic date to roughly 29,000–25,000 years ago. Those prehistoric figurines are much older, but they are small objects rather than monumental statues.