Gaby
Bulgarian archaeologists excavating an ancient Roman sewer stumbled on a surprise—a well-preserved statue of the Greek god Hermes.
The two-meter-tall white marble figure is in remarkable condition, CNN reports, especially considering it sat in the sewer for centuries. The statue’s head is completely intact, though its arms are broken.
Archaeologists think that after a powerful earthquake destroyed the city of Heraclea Sintica around 388 AD, someone carefully placed the statue in the sewer and buried it under dirt. Those storage conditions likely explain the artifact’s excellent preservation.
“The statue is in very good condition,” said Bulgarian archaeologist Lyudmil Vagalinski, who led the research team. He also noted that the statue is a Roman copy of an ancient Greek original.
The team believes that the residents of Heraclea Sintica likely tried to preserve the statue even after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, which banned all pagan practices. The townspeople embraced the new faith but still took care of their old deities, Dr. Vagalinski pointed out.
The ruins of Heraclea Sintica are located in southwestern Bulgaria, in the village of Rupite, near the border with Greece. Archaeologists discovered them in 2002. The city was founded by Philip II of Macedon between 356 and 339 BC. After the earthquake, Heraclea Sintica gradually declined.
Photo: CNN
