Photos of the Commagene Statues of Mount Nemrut Dağı

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Photos of the Commagene Statues of Mount Nemrut Dağı – The Mountain Top Sanctuary of Mausoleum tomb Ruins of Antiochus 1. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams. (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Commagene Statues of Mount Nemrut Dağı

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Photos of Mount Nemrut Dağı summit statues of the Mountain Top Sanctuary or Antiochus 1 Mausoleum Ruins. (Mount Nemrut or Nemrud), Turkey.

At the summit of Mount Nemrut (Dağı) at a height of 2,134 m (7,001 ft) are the ruins of Hellenistic mausoleum of Antiochus.

king Antiochus I of Commagene

In the first century BC, the Roman-Persian king Antiochus I of Commagene (a kingdom north of Syria and the Euphrates) ordered a tomb to be built on the summit of Mount Nemrut.

Removing the Top of Mount Nemrut

Firstly the top of the mountain was levelled to create a terrace. On the west and East sides of the terrace a line of four meter high seated statues were placed. The statues depicted the Gods Apollo, Fortuna, Heracles, Zeus and Antiochus 1 himself

Antiochus ordered that after his death all of the people of his kingdom were ordered to bring small stones to the top of the mountain and place them over his tomb. This they did and today a loose stone pyramid sits on top of Mount Nemrut 49 m (161 ft) high and 152 m (499 ft) in diameter. Antiochus knew that this loose stone pyramid would protect his tomb from robbers as it is impossible to tunnel into it without it collapsing.

The hidden Tomb of Antiochus I

To date it is not sure if anyone has tunnelled into the tomb of Antiochus 1. The Romans were reported to have looted the burial tumuli of their goods and the Legio XVI Flavia Firma built and dedicated a bridge to do so. There is no evidence of how they tunnelled into the loose stones and, they certainly did not remove them and put them back.

The tumulus has been examined though by modern imaging technique. This has left archaeologists with a puzzle. There don’t appear to be a tomb below the loose rock tumulus. So what was the site for or did the Romans manage, against all odds, to remove the tomb.

To be absolutely sure archaeologists would have to remove millions of tons of loose stone from the top of Mount Nemrut. An unlikely event. So until a tunnelling technique is devise the mystery of the real purpose of Mount Nemrut may remain a mystery.

The Mount Nemrut Statues

Over the years the huge statue of Mount Nemrut collapsed. Today the blocks of stone that made up the statues bodies are strewn across the site. Although Hellenistic in style there is a sense of oriental influences in the sculpture style. There is a blend of Greco Roman and Persian styles and Commagene was sandwiched between the two.

Statues of Mount Nemrut Sunset

The statue heads have been set upright and make a spectacular sight at sunrise when the eastern statues are lit or at sunset when the western statues are lt. The views from the top of Nemrut are spectacular looking across towards the Syrian plain especially in the early morning mist.

Mount Nemrut is A Unesco World Heritage Site,