A marble statue of a woman believed to be more than 2,000 years old was found abandoned in a garbage bag near the Greek city of Thessaloniki, police said Wednesday.
Residents discovered an 80 centimeter (31 inch) headless statue next to a trash can in Neoi Epibates, a suburb of Greece's second-largest city. The men handed it over to local authorities, who contacted archaeologists to assess its significance.
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Police said experts had conducted an initial assessment and found that the work dates back to the Hellenistic period, a period between approximately 320 B.C. and 30 B.C., marked by the rise of art and culture after the conquests of Alexander the Great. He said he determined that it was.
This undated photo of the handout, provided by Greek police and published on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, shows 2,000 people found discarded in garbage bags in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. It shows a marble statue of a woman who appears to be older than her age. . (Greek Police, via AP)
The statue was sent for further examination by archaeologists. It will eventually be handed over to local antiquities authorities for preservation and research.
Police launched an investigation to find out who had thrown away the statue, and briefly detained the man for questioning, but he was later released without charge.
In Greece, famous for its ancient heritage, accidental archaeological discoveries are relatively common, often discovered during building or public works projects. In December, workers installing a natural gas pipeline near Athens discovered a Roman statue of Hermes buried upright in a brick pit near the Acropolis.
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A few weeks ago, the city of Thessaloniki unveiled a trove of antiquities discovered during the decades-long construction of the metro system, which officially opened in November. Significant finds, including marble-paved Roman boulevards and tens of thousands of artifacts spanning the Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman eras, are now on display at the metro station.
