Intact Roman Sculptures Unearthed in Israel - Archaeology Magazine
The intact 1,700-year-old busts may have decorated an elite home or public building, and one preserves a Greek inscription naming Lycurgus.
- On Monday, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of two 1,700-year-old marble statues in Binyamina. The rare protomes, depicting Greco-Roman figures, were unearthed during a national infrastructure project to expand coastal rail lines.
- Excavation directors Eliran Oren and Avishag Reiss found the statues face down within a Roman-Byzantine winepress pit. Experts suggest they were hidden for safekeeping long after the winepress went out of use.
- Each statue weighs about 60 kilograms and stands 55 centimeters tall. One protome bears a Greek inscription of the name 'Lycurgus,' potentially depicting either the Spartan founder or a 4th-century BCE statesman from Athens.
- The Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv will display the statues throughout the summer. MUZA Director-General Gil Omer noted the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to connect with this 'extraordinary discovery' shortly after its discovery.
- Researchers suspect the statues originally adorned a luxurious villa near Caesarea, approximately 10 kilometers from the site. Archaeologist Dr. Peter Gendelman explained that such portraits allowed elite patrons to associate themselves with antiquity's cultural world.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Intact Roman Sculptures Unearthed in Israel - Archaeology Magazine
Recently discovered Roman busts, Binyamina, Israel BINYAMINA, ISRAEL—Haaretz reports that two 1,700-year-old marble busts have been discovered in a wine-collection pit at a winepress dated to the Roman and Byzantine periods in northern Israel. One of the busts is inscribed in Greek with the name “Lycurgus,” perhaps referring to the legendary founder of Sparta, or a statesman and orator who lived in Athens in the fourth century B.C. Archaeologist…
Archaeology once again shows that some of the greatest treasures of history remain hidden a few meters underground. A team of researchers has discovered in the ancient port city of Cesarea, in present-day Israel, two great marble busts >An unexpected discovery The archaeologists located the sculptures while digging a winepress, which is a structure where fruits such as olive, grape or apple are stepped on or pressed, a fundamental economic activ…
Ancient Marble Busts With Greek Inscription Found in Israel
Two 1,700-year-old marble busts discovered near Binyamina in Israel. Credit: Emil Aladjem / Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered two remarkably well-preserved marble busts with a Greek inscription dating back about 1,700 years near Binyamina, shedding new light on life during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The marble busts, known as protomes, depict figures from the Greco-Roman world. They were discovered buried…
Lost Roman masterpieces discovered buried beneath ancient vineyard complex
Archaeologists have uncovered two remarkably well-preserved Roman marble statues dating back approximately 1,700 years during excavations near Binyamina in northern Israel. The sculptures, depicting prominent figures from the Greco-Roman world, were discovered buried inside a wine collection vat associated with a Roman-Byzantine winepress. One of the statues bears a Greek inscription naming “Lycurgus”, a figure whose identity is now the focus of…
Two Roman-era statues unearthed during infrastructure dig for Israel Railways near Haifa
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” added Oren and Reiss. “It was very unexpected, but somehow, the really big discoveries always turn up on the excavation’s very last day.”
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