Israeli archaeologists unearth 1,700-year-old marble statues buried face down

Archaeologists uncovered two Roman-era marble statues buried face down near Binyamina, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a June 15 press release. The statues, which the IAA dated to about 1,700 years ago, were found during excavations ahead of construction of a coastal high-speed railway.

The figures were recovered from the wine collection pit of a Roman-Byzantine winepress, the IAA said. “While digging the winepress, something was sticking out of the ground, and the workers called me,” Michael Sorotskin, an IAA archaeologist, said in the release. “There was a feeling that we were about to discover something that really shouldn’t be there.” He added, “Suddenly, we saw that this was not the usual pottery 11 it was marble.”

Excavation directors Eliran Oren and Avishag Reiss said the statues were “neatly laid, face down.” They said it appeared the figures had been intentionally buried when the winepress went out of use. “At present, it is not known why the statues were hidden here 11 perhaps to preserve them,” they said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”

One statue bears a Greek inscription with the name “Lycurgus,” the IAA said. Peter Gendelman, a Caesarea-region expert with the IAA, said the figure could represent Lycurgus of Sparta or Lycurgus of Athens. “Possibly this statue may prove to be one of these two historical figures, but our research is just beginning,” he said. Gendelman added that the find is the first of its kind in about three decades and that the statues were likely displayed in public buildings or the homes of wealthy residents during the Roman period.

Researchers are cleaning and conserving the statues before conducting further analysis, the IAA said. The agency said the discovery follows other notable finds this year, including a 1,700-year-old statuette fragment found in the Negev and an ancient tunnel uncovered near Jerusalem.

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