A huge marble statue of a deity discovered by archaeologists in ancient city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich
Archaeologists discovered a large marble statue, taller than a human height, during excavations at the site of the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich, Southwestern Bulgaria. The statue is of a deity and is very well preserved.
The head of the archaelogical team, Prof. Dr. Lyudmil Vagalinski, pointed out that the find was discovered in the underground canal of the city of Cloaca Maxima and scientists did not expect to find anything there.
"In this area, where the big sewage system is, my main concern is how to preserve the ancient structures we uncovered six years ago," he explained.
According to prof. Vagalinski, this area is private property and the municipality cannot carry out permanent conservation and restoration like in the municipal plot. These structures and walls, which are private property, are eroding. It is for this reason that they have decided to open up the grates on the canal that they have put in for safety and check its condition.
"We saw some marble while cleaning very carefully to find out what the condition of the walls was," said Prof. Vagalinski.
After they continued with the cleaning, the statue began to emerge.
Work is now underway to fully unearth the entire statue. It will then be removed and taken to the History Museum in Petrich, the head of the excavation team said.
Prof. Lyudmil Vagalinski explained that most probably the then inhabitants of Heraclea Sintica stowed the statue in the sewer because it was propped up against the wall.
This season, excavations at the site of the ancient city will last between three and four months.
Source: BTA
Statue of a deity discovered by archaeologists in Heraclea Sintica near Petrich (see pics)
