BINYAMINA, ISRAEL, June 28 (World Daily Times) — Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered two intact marble Roman-era busts buried face down in a winepress pit near Binyamina, one of them bearing a Greek inscription that researchers say may point to a figure named Lycurgus.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said the sculptures date to about 1,700 years ago and were found during an excavation carried out ahead of railway construction on Israel’s coast. The figures were not standing where they originally belonged, but were found inside a Roman-Byzantine wine vat or pit.
One bust carries the Greek name “Lycurgus.” Researchers said that inscription could refer either to Lycurgus of Sparta or to a later Athenian orator, but they said the identification is not settled.
The second bust has a long beard and no immediately distinguishing features. Researchers have only tentatively suggested that it may depict a philosopher or another leading thinker.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said the busts are expected to be shown to the public at the MUZA Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv before conservation work and further study.
