A 32-year-old man in Thessaloniki found a headless marble statue inside a black bag near garbage bins and promptly reported it to the police. The statue measures approximately 80 centimeters tall and 25 centimeters wide, according to Le Figaro.
Initial assessments by the Greek Antiquities Authority and the archaeological service suggest that the marble statue dates back to the Hellenistic period, specifically between 323 and 31 BCE, as reported by CBS News.
After it was examined by the governmental archaeologists, the statue was seized by police.
The Greek police's Organized Crime Unit opened a preliminary investigation into how the statue came to be dumped.
Antique objects, including finds from the ancient Greek era, are often discovered throughout Greece during road works or construction sites. These artifacts are frequently targeted by organized criminal groups involved in illegal antiquities trafficking.
In April 2023, six people were arrested on the island of Crete during the dismantling of an antiquities trafficking network, and many antique objects valued at one million euros were seized, as reported by Le Figaro. T
Ancient statues were found in trash before in Europe. In 2023, ancient bronze statues were found in a garbage dump in Tuscany, Italy, according to CBS News. Additionally, a Roman-era statuette of Venus was discovered in a trash dump in Rennes, France, the same year. These incidents highlight the potential for archaeological finds in unexpected places.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.