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Archeological digs in Israel have recently revealed an ancient face that hasn’t been seen in centuries.
Two statues were found near Binyamina, Israel, according to a June 15 report by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
Archaeologists were excavating before the construction of a high-speed railway on the coast when they found two marble statues in the wine collection pit of a Roman-Byzantine wine press, the IAA said.
1,600-YEAR-OLD UNCONTINUED MOSAIC FROM CHRISTIANS UNVEILED AFTER GREAT DAYS OF HIDDENNESS.
These images, which date back 1,700 years, show two unknown people from the ancient Greek and Roman world.
One of the statues has a Greek inscription with the name “Lycurgus,” according to officials.
Recent excavations near Binyamina have revealed two ancient marble statues that researchers believe were deliberately buried centuries ago. (Israel Antiquities Authority)
Michael Sorotskin, an IAA archaeologist who helped find the photos, called the discovery “simply amazing.”
“When I was digging the wine press, something came out of the ground, and the workers called me,” Sorotskin said in the release. “It felt like we were about to find something that really shouldn’t be there.”
ANCIENT CHRISTIAN IMAGES FOUND IN 1,500-YEAR-OLD CEMETERY
“Suddenly, we realized that this was no ordinary clay – it was marble,” he added. “Then, little by little, these two pictures were revealed. I’m still trying to find the right words.”
Eliran Oren and Avishag Reiss, the project’s excavation directors, said the images were found “well placed, upside down.” It seems that they were deliberately buried when the wine press was no longer working.
Archaeologists describe the discovery of these two marble figures as a rare and unexpected find from the Roman period. (Israel Antiquities Authority)
“At this time, it is not known why these images were hidden here – perhaps for safekeeping,” Oren and Reiss said in a joint statement.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”
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“It was quite unexpected, but somehow, the big finds always come on the last day of digging,” they added.
Peter Gendelman, Caesarea region expert from the IAA, said the discovery of this species was the first in over three decades.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”
This “Lycurgus” statue may depict two different men, one named Lycurgus of Sparta and the other named Lycurgus of Athens, Gendelman said.
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“Perhaps this statue may be one of these two historical figures, but our research has just begun,” he said.
These images were probably displayed in public buildings or in the homes of wealthy citizens during the Roman period as a way of “connecting themselves to the cultural and spiritual world of antiquity,” the expert noted.
Israeli researchers say the marble figures, hidden upside down, may have been preserved when the wine press was no longer in use. (Israel Antiquities Authority)
“Near the place where it was found, the remains of a bath house were discovered, and it is possible that these statues used to decorate the luxurious villa of a resident of Kesariya,” he said.
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Researchers are currently cleaning and preserving the images before further analysis, hoping to identify who they represent.
The discovery is the latest in a series of significant archaeological finds announced by Israeli researchers this year.
Researchers are now cleaning and preserving the images as they try to identify the figures depicted. (Israel Antiquities Authority)
Earlier this May, IAA officials said a chance find in the Negev Desert led to the identification of a fragment of a 1,700-year-old Roman sculpture.
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Around the same time, archaeologists discovered a “mysterious and impressive” ancient tunnel near Jerusalem, not far from places associated with the biblical Kingdom of Judah.
