Precious Third-Century Statue of Venus Uncovered in Macedonia
BalkanTravellers.com
According to archaeologists, quoted by the Dnevnik newspaper, the statue is an original and its value is similar to those that are displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The real-life-sized statue (170 centimetres) is of the Roman goddess of love, Venus. Because of the statue’s specific posture in covering her private parts, she is thought to be the Venus Pudica, or the Modest Venus.
The precious find was discovered in a bath, which archaeologists recently unearthed at the Skupi site, along with an Early Christian basilica. The statue of Venus has an engraving of a dolphin on her left leg, which is characteristic of the Modest Venus when she is coming out of the water.
The dolphin, the craftsmanship and the materials used for the sculpture suggest, according to experts, that Skupi was a settlement of the highest rank between the first and the seventh centuries, as only prosperous towns could afford to the luxury of having such a well-made statue of Venus.
The discovery, reported Dnevnik, has been taken away for conservation and will be displayed in the Museum of Skopje. Around 23,000 objects have been discovered the excavations on the Skupi site, which started in March and will be completed at the end of July.
Read more about Macedonia from BalkanTravellers.com
Use BalkanTravellers.com's tips to organize your trip to Macedonia
Epicure
Macedonia
Restaurant “Yugoslavia” to Open in Macedonia’s Capital
October 2009 | In the latest move marked by nostalgia for the socialist past, a new restaurant named “Yugoslavia” will soon open its doors in Skopje. Full Story
Curiosity Chest
Macedonia
Recycled Life: Bottle Collectors in Skopje, Macedonia
Like quicksand, poverty is hard to escape - the harder you fight, the worse it can get. In Skopje, some work hard scouring the city for "treasures." They are bottle collectors, spending the day in search of recyclable plastic which they can sell for a subsistence income.
Full Story
Useful Reads
Balkans
Through Another Europe (2009) | Edited by Andrew Hammond
When Henry Blount journeyed through Bosnia in the 1630s, two things struck him: the purity of the water and the great height of the Bosnians, which, he noted, “made me suppose them the offspring of those old Germans noted by Tacitus and Caesar for their huge size.”
Full Story
Music
Macedonia
Macedonia: Esma Redžepova's Passion for Humanity
"A Gypsy from the city of Skopje", as she calls herself, Esma Redžepova has more than 40 years of singing and humanitarian efforts under her belt. Full Story
-
Photogalleries
-
A Perfect Shot
Koprivshtitsa Fair, Bulgara. Photographs by Neva Micheva
In Homo Urbanus Europeanus, exhibited May 9-24 in front of the National Theatre in Sofia, Jean-Marc Caracci presents his photographs of people in the urban environment of European capitals.
RED&WHITE SOFIA. On the 1st of March Bulgarians say goodbye to the winter. They buy each other red&white threads to carry around until they see a stork and spring can begin. Photography by Lode Desmet
BULGARIA D'OR: The Bulgarian countryside, patinated with the noble golden dust of the autumn. Photographs by Lode Desmet
360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.
The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
Instant Spring in Sofia | Photographs by Lode Desmet
Off-the-season Beauty of Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast | Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast
Photographs by Albena Shkodrova
excellent smugs
