Italian construction workers in the capital Rome have made an remarkable discovery of a female marble head thought to be that of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, reported the city's archaeological authorities
In a statement, the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri expressed his enthusiasm for the discovery:
"Thanks to the careful work of the archaeologists of the Superintendency, we are able to deepen the knowledge of a part of the city that amazes for the richness of its thousand-year history.
"The newly found head, of elegant workmanship, carved in Greek marble, probably belongs to a statue of a female divinity, perhaps Aphrodite, of natural dimensions. It shows a refined hairstyle of hair gathered at the back thanks to a "taenia", a ribbon knotted on the top of the head. The find was found in the foundation of a late antique wall but is preserved intact; reused as building material it lay face down, protected by a clay bank on which the foundation of the wall rests. The reuse of sculptural works, even of important value, was a very common practice in the late Middle Ages, which allowed, as in this case, the successful preservation of important works of art.
The head is currently entrusted to restorers for cleaning, and to archaeologists for correct identification and an initial dating proposal, which appears to be from the Augustan era." concluded Gualtieri.
The discovery took place during the works for the "Redevelopment of the Mausoleum of Augustus and Piazza Augusto Imperatore", on the eastern side of the area under construction.
