At one point, the Roman Empire reached from one end of the European continent to the other. Roman cultural heritage similarly spread across the territory, sometimes erasing what was once in its place.
Archaeologists in Bulgaria have seemingly found some possible evidence of one of these cultural shifts. Scientists were digging at an excavation site in the village of Rupite close to the border with Greece when they discovered a marble statue of the Greek god Hermes in an ancient Roman sewer.
The town was once the site of Heraclea Sintica, an ancient city founded in the fourth century B.C.E. by Philip II of Macedon. It remained intact for hundreds of years before archaeologists say a massive earthquake leveled the town around 388 C.E. That made the discovery of a 6.8-foot statue in the sewer that much more surprising—and seemingly indicated that the local residents worked to preserve their old culture in secret.
"Its head is preserved. [It's in a] very good condition," Lyudmil Vagalinski, who led the team of researchers, said of the find, per Reuters, adding, "There are a few fractures on the hands." The sculpture is purported to be a Roman replica of an ancient Greek original and is believed to have been preserved on purpose, as it was found seemingly placed carefully in the sewers and covered with soil to keep it intact.
The team believes that it might have been an attempt to save the statue after Christianity was implemented as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
"Everything pagan was forbidden," Vagalinski said. "They [had] joined the new ideology, but apparently they took care of their old deities."
Sometimes the most valuable treasures are where you least expect them.
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