Bulgaria Archaeologists Discover Ancient Treasure During Roman Sewer Excavation – Researchers have stumbled upon a treasure while excavating an ancient Roman sewer: a well-preserved marble statue depicting the Greek goddess Hermes.
The 2-meter tall statue was found during excavations at the site of Heraclea Sintica in southwestern Bulgaria, near the Greek border.
The marble statue of the Greek goddess Hermes recently discovered beneath the sewer in Bulgaria.
The leading archaeologists overseeing the excavation stated that after a devastating earthquake struck this vast city around 388 AD, the statue was carefully placed in the sewer and covered with earth. This is why the statue has remained in good condition to this day.
“The head of the statue is preserved in very good condition. There are a few cracks on the hand,” said Lyudmil Vagalinski, the head of the archaeological team, adding that the statue is a replica of the original ancient Greek piece.
Heraclea Sintica was a significant city founded by the ancient Macedonian king Philip II between 356 BC and 339 BC in what is now the Pirin region of Macedonia, Bulgaria.
According to archaeologists, the residents of Heraclea Sintica may have tried to preserve the statue even after Christianity was recognized as the state religion in the Roman Empire.
“Everything pagan was banned, and they embraced the new ideology, but clearly, they still respected their old gods,” he remarked.
After the earthquake, Heraclea Sintica rapidly declined and was abandoned around 500 AD.
