Marble statue found in Athens during works to lay gas pipes

A white marble statue of a naked male figure has been discovered during preparatory works to lay natural gas pipes, the Culture Ministry has said.

The statue, in the Hermes Ludovisi style, was unearthed in a meter-wide trench to the south of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, at the junction of Erechthiou and Kalliperi streets.

During the Roman imperial period (1st-5th century AD), urban villas were built in the area where the artifact was found.

The headless statue lay inside a structure built of rectangular bricks.

Having completed the documentation of the find, the staff of the Athens ephorate of antiquities transferred the statue to its conservation workshop.

Source: ekathimerini.com