Photo gallery: Roman statue found in Ashkelon
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 12/15/2010 13:14
Winds blows 1,700-year-old statue toward Ashkelon cliff; white marble figure of woman in toga will be displayed in museums.
An Israeli stands by the statue in Ashkelon. Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A
Roman statue that was buried for centuries was unearthed by gusts of
winds during the storm hitting the country over the weekend.
The
white-marble figure of a woman in toga and sandals was discovered in
the remains of a cliff that collapsed from the force of winds, waves and
rain at the old port of Ashkelon, the Israel Antiquities Authority
said on Tuesday.
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"The sea gave us this amazing statue," said Yigal Israeli, a researcher with the authority, according to Reuters.
He
said the statue, doesn't have a head or arms arms, is about 1.2 meters
(4 feet) tall, weighs 200 kg (440 pounds) and dates back to the Roman occupation
of what was once western Judea, about 1,700 years ago.
According to the Authority it will be put on display in museums, Reuters
reported.