THESSALONIKI (AP) – 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.
A resident discovered the 80-centimetre headless statue beside a trash bin in Neoi Epivates, outside Greece’s second-largest city. The man turned it over to local authorities, who contacted archaeologists to assess its significance.
Police said experts, following an initial evaluation, determined the piece dates to the Hellenistic era, a period roughly between 320 and 30 BC that was marked by a flourishing of art and culture following the conquests of Alexander the Great.
The statue was sent for further examination by archaeologists. It will ultimately be handed over to the local antiquities authority for preservation and study.
