ARCHÆOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2052, 27 July 1885, Page 2

ARCHÆOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES.

There is.great excitement and rejoicing ■ in the artistic and archaeological world ,of Rome at the •discovery of another lifesize bronze statue of. evident Greek workriiansliip, close to the spot where the bronze athlete was recently found. It represents a pancratiast, a Greek prize-fighter, reposing seated, after the combat, his elbows resting on his knees, and his forearms and hands, with the cestus still on t)iem, extended with fatigue'one over the other. The statue is uninjured, with the exception.of a fracture—partly across the right thigh, from which-' a, -bit from the surface has beeii lost. The head, hands, and feet are perfect, and, judging from the cestus on tho tens and hands, the work is'one of great'antiquity, as well as of ai-tistic ;int'erest aiid"vwlu'e. The discovery of two'life-nze' Honze statues within a few weeks is an&ipralleled event in the annals of art ih'-Rome. It is believed that this statue arid that of the athlete were purposely hidden where they have been found, and hopes are therefore entertained of further dißCttoerios being made, . H'' ■ '