Kayseri Müzesinde henüz bilimsel değerlendirmesi yapılmamış altı mermer heykel parçası, çalışma talebimiz doğrultusunda Kayseri Müze Müdürlüğü tarafından onaylanmış ve çalışma sırasında gerekli yardımlar yapılmıştır. Bu bağlamda Kayseri Müze Müdürlüğüne ve çalışanlarına ayrıca teşekkür ederim. Ülkemizde kaçakçılık ciddi sorunlardan bir tanesidir. Hem kültürel mirasın bilinçsiz şekilde yok edilmesine hem de eserlerin kaçırılması sonucu ait oldukları bölgeler hakkında gelecek verilerin yok olmasına neden olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ele alınan eselerin bir kısmı kaçakçıların yakalanması bir kısmı ise bağış sonucu Kayseri Müzesine gelmiştir. Eserlerin Kapadokya bölgesi sınırları içinden geldikleri bilinmektedir. Heykel parçalarının değerlendirilmesi sonucunda bölgenin antik dönem heykel sanatındaki yeri hakkında bir öneri sunabilmekteyiz. Ayrıca eserlerin bir kısmının tanrı-tanrıça heykellerine benzerliği bölgenin kültleri hakkında öneriler sunmamıza olanak sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışma sonucunda ileride yapılacak çalışmalarla elde edilen verilerin değerlendirilmesinde bir kaynak olarak kullanılması amaçlanmıştır. Mermer heykel parçaları değerlendirildiğinde dört tanesinin kadın, iki tanesinin erkek heykeline ait oldukları anlaşılmaktadır. Çalışma içinde de parçalar "Kadın-Erkek" heykel parçaları olarak gruplandırılmış ve değerlendirilmiştir. Eserler tanımlandıktan sonra benzer örnekleri ve işçilikleri karşılaştırılarak değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Bu çalışma ile bölgenin heykel çeşitliliği ve dönemlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca eserlerin literatüre kazandırılmasının bölgesel anlamda tipolojiye katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

IntroductionKayseri has a long-established historical background. It is one of the important headquarters points especially in the Roman Period. Cultural activities in the city continued for a long time without interruption. The cultural products in Kayseri have a unique structure as well as a style unity in their history. Local effects are clearly seen especially in sarcophagi dating to the Roman imperial period. The sculpture pieces we consider here are also important for Kayseri's cultural development. The art of sculpture in ancient times was not only aesthetic. People used visual arts to convey their beliefs, political views, and sometimes implicit statements.The sculptures that form the subject of this article also carry the cultural features of the period they belong to. It should not be ignored by saying only a small piece, sometimes it tells the belief and the period of the culture that it belongs to the expressions it carries on a very small archaeological piece. The important thing is to study each culture product knowing that it once meant something to someone. Then the results appear more clearly. Among the sculptures pieces of men and women, there are those that will enable us to learn about their religious beliefs. In ancient times, we can have an idea about the gods believed by Kayseri people. This will be a resource for sculptures and worship areas that will be found further.Sculpture pieces not only provide information about the cultural structure of the ancient period, but also provide information about the art style of the period. Although some of the artifacts we work with are small pieces, what kind of stance and style they have in the whole is understandable quality. On the artifacts are observed attentive workmanship both in the processing of folds of clothes and in the positioning of postures. . This situation played an important role in comparison with similar examples of known history and in the evaluation of the works. It also showed the standards and quality of sculpting works in the region.MethodPrimarily was obtained the necessary permissions from the Kayseri museum for the study of artifacts. Then the pieces of sculptures were photographed and their main dimensions taken. Inventory information was obtained about how and from where the artifacts were brought from Kayseri museum. After the works were grouped within themselves, their definitions were made. A literature searching was made to date the pieces of sculptures and similar examples were found, and a history proposal was presented by making comparisons.While comparing the works with similar examples, attention was paid to standing positions and clothing structures. It was tried to determine which iconography the sculptures were made by influencing them.Results and DiscussionThe sculptures found in the Kayseri Museum and evaluated by us were not found as a result of archaeological excavations. This situation brought some difficulties for the dating the artifacts. However, the quality workmanship of the works allowed us to compare with similar examples. n addition to dating the works, their styles and the periodic features they carry were also compared with similar examples. As a result of comparisons, A sculpture style that can be traced until 1st century BC and AD the end of the 3rd century has been determined.The sculpture pieces have a high quality workmanship. This enabled us to easily determine the details of the garment, how they would have a standing position if they were in the whole situation while evaluating the pieces. In addition, pieces belonging to god and goddess statue were identified among the works. When the parts were evaluated, it was determined that they might be related to the worship of Apollo, Dionyssos and Issis cults in the region.In addition to those exhibiting cultural features, there are independent sculptures that cannot be combined with any character. The sculptures in this group were probably used for aesthetic purposes for decoration. This situation can be accepted as a sign of the monumental buildings decoreted with sculptures in the region and the houses such as villas, which were frequently preferred during the Roman period.RecommendationsThe sculptures in the Kayseri Museum that form the subject of our study are important in terms of providing information about the ancient sculpture art of the region. They can be used as a resource for dating the future works and determining the style features. For this reason, it will be useful to bring the pieces we work with into the literature for a better understanding of the future works and regional sculpture.