The marble head of a Roman male dated to the first century AD has been intercepted by customs officers at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria. It was in a package posted in the south eastern city of Haskovo for an undisclosed Western destination. It has now been delivered to the country's National History Museum.
Slightly excitably it has been described as the head of a Roman emperor, probably Augustus. It doesn't look like any head of Augustus I have ever seen, but that description does grab more headlines than "head of an unknown male".
The story is at News.bg and has been carried by the Sofia News Agency:
The Customs Intelligence Service of the Sofia Airport presented Monday to the Bulgaria's National History Museum the marble head of a Roman emperor.
The unique antique was discovered at the airport in a parcel sent from the southeast Bulgarian city of Haskovo, and destined for Western Europe.
The marble head is dated back to the 1st century AD. It is part of a whole stature or a bust of a Roman Emperor, most likely of Octavian August.
According to the experts of the National History Museum, the antique is a highly intricate art work by an excellent sculptor.
"We received antiques of such value and quality once every quarter of a century", the Director of the Museum Dr. Bozhidar Dimitrov stated as he thanked the Customs officials for their excellent work. The unique antique will be presented officially on Tuesday.
Photo copyright NIM
I've seen people lose their heads in airports. I've never seen anyone find one.
And I once heard of a guy who left his heart in San Francisco, presumably at the airport.
Posted by: mike | November 11, 2008 at 05:52 PM
You must have travelled with children. Surely hesds will have been lost at some point!
Posted by: adrianmurdoch | November 11, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Looks fake to me.
Posted by: David Derrick | November 12, 2008 at 06:04 PM
I agree
Posted by: adrianmurdoch | November 12, 2008 at 09:27 PM
I bought something similar from my local "Wyevale" garden centre last weekend. I believe it to be Roman. It represented exceptional value, at any rate.
Posted by: SA | November 13, 2008 at 08:12 PM
Doesn't really look like Augustus, does it? Had he been visiting Ovid in Pontus, perhaps in disguise?
Posted by: David | November 17, 2008 at 11:42 AM
It doesn't even look much like stone.
Posted by: adrianmurdoch | November 17, 2008 at 10:33 PM