Archaeologists near the coastal town of Binyamina unearthed two well-preserved marble busts from the Roman era, hidden face-down in the pit of an ancient winepress.
The excavation uncovered a sprawling Byzantine-era wine-production complex with treading floors, filtration basins and collection pits for fermenting grape juice.
On the last day the team found the statues. They stand about 55 centimeters (22 inches) tall and weigh roughly 60 kilograms (132 pounds) each. One protome bears a Greek inscription with the name of Lycurgus (most commonly associated with Sparta). The bust could represent Lycurgus of Athens.
A second mystery concerns how the busts arrived in Binyamina hundreds of years after they were created.
By late antiquity, as Christianity became the dominant religion, pagan temples and monuments were vandalized or destroyed. Statues associated with the Greco-Roman world were frequent targets.
No comments:
Post a Comment