A group of tomb steles from the Archaeological Museum of Hierapolis

Tombstones, which symbolize immortality, were first erected to determine the location of the graves. Over time, their place in art has been transformed into a work of sculpture. At various times, restrictions were imposed in order to prevent large expenditures, and after a while, these practices were eliminated and the old glorious production processes were returned. The general development of tomb stelae has been described first. Here we will be able to understand the processes in the Hellenistic and pre-Roman traditions and the Anatolian production group in the process. The ostü reflecting the rich temple architecture of the Archaic and Classical Periods continued throughout the Hellenistic Period. By the Roman Period, however, the temple appearance was abandoned in favor of simpler and architecturally simpler productions with fewer decorative elements. The artifacts, which were generally analyzed architecturally and typologically, were handled and evaluated under headings accordingly. The first group consists of tomb steles with pediment, without pediment and storeys. Pedimented stelae are evaluated according to whether they have a triangular form or not. Other architectural distinctions were made based on this point. Under these headings, it is analyzed whether they are arranged with arched niches or surrounded by a naiskos area. Under another main heading, ostür types, female and male types, children and servants are discussed. In this field of figurative analysis, female and male types were analyzed from the clothes they wore to their body shapes and ostüre positions and analyzed in the sub-group to which they belonged.