Laborers digging a ditch to lay gas pipes in Athens uncovered an ancient marble statue and Roman-era archeological objects, the culture ministry said on Tuesday. “A statue of a man of the Hermes Ludovisi type dating to the imperial period from the first to fifth century” was found near the Odeon of Herodes Atticus at the foot of the Acropolis, a ministry statement said, referring to a famous sculpture of the Greek god Hermes.

The statue was discovered on Monday while workers dug a ditch to lay pipes to supply natural gas in the Acropolis neighborhood. Archeologists were attempting to identify other objects discovered at the site, a ministry official told AFP. “For now, the new objects have yet to be identified,” he said. According to public broadcaster ERT, the other objects date from the same period as the Hermes statue. The statue, which was in “quite good condition” was found “inside a structure built with rectangular bricks” that was amongst “villas built by rich bourgeois in that era”, the ministry statement said.

This handout photograph released by Greece's Ministry of Culture on December 9, 2024, shows a headless statue of a naked man of the type of Hermes Ludovisi dating from the imperial period between the 1st and 5th centuries.

Archaeologists work at the site where was discovered a headless statue of a man of the type of Hermes Ludovisi dating from the imperial period between the 1st and 5th centuries, in Athens.

Elena Kountouri, head of the Athenian archeological service, told the Kathimerini daily that “it is important to continue the excavations, to collect all the discoveries, to ensure that no evidence is lost”. Ancient archeological objects are often found in Athens and other parts of Greece during road works or construction projects, revealing the country’s rich past. — AFP