Conservation of the first statue discovered in ancient city of Heraclea Syntytica completed

The conservation of the first statue discovered this summer in the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich has been completed. The 211-centimetre sculpture has been cleaned and reinforced and is now part of the permanent exhibition at the History Museum in Petrich.

The white marble statue represents one of the adopted grandsons of Emperor Octavian Augustus, carved from a single marble block, and is more than 2,000 years old. The restoration work was quite labour-intensive and took several months.

Parts of the statue’s arms, nose, ears, and drapery are still missing, but X-ray analysis confirmed that there are no structural damages to the sculpture. It was officially unveiled today, February 14, as part of the permanent exhibition at the museum, on the same day that, alongside the Wine and vine Day - Trifon Zarezan and Valentine's Day, we also celebrate Archaeologist's Day.

The first statue discovered in Heraclea Sintica likely depicts grandson of Octavian Augustus

A huge marble statue of a deity discovered by archaeologists in ancient city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich