Police in Greece have seized two ancient Greek statues from a pair of farmers who were trying to sell them abroad.

“This is a very important find, of fabulous value, and (both statues) were ready to be taken out of Greece,” Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said.

Archaeologists said Tuesday the statues are “outstanding works of art” and may have come from a temple or cemetery in a lost ancient city in the Peloponnese region in southern Greece. Both are in excellent condition, but lack sections of their lower legs and were gashed by a plow or digging machinery.

They stand 1.82 meters (5 feet 9 inches) and 1.78 meters (5 feet 8 inches) high, and were probably carved by the same sculptor out of thick-grained island marble between 550-520 B.C, at the height of the archaic period of sculpture.

“They are exactly the same, with a slight variation in hairstyle and a small difference in height,” said Nikos Kaltsas, director of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens where the finds were temporarily housed for conservation and study. “The artist may have wanted to produce two similar figures that would form part of a group.”

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The tombs of 21 individuals have been found in Greece. What is notable about the discovery is that the tombs do not contain the artifacts that are usually included in Mycenaean tombs, prompting archaeologists to speculate that they may have belonged to a previously unknown egalitarian society.

A team of archaeologists have unearthed five chamber tombs at Ayia Sotira, a cemetery in the Nemea Valley in Greece, just a few hours walk from the ancient city of Mycenae. The tombs date from 1350 – 1200 BC, the era in which Mycenae thrived as a major centre of Greek civilization.

They contain the remains of 21 individuals who probably came from Tsoungiza, an agricultural settlement close to the ancient city. Despite the significant human remains, however, the team have found no evidence of elite burials, prompting speculation that Tsoungiza may have been an egalitarian society without leaders.

The team excavated the five tombs between 2006 and 2008, containing the skeletal remains of 21 individuals, including what appears to be an extended family made up of two men, one woman and two young children. Detailed analysis of the remains will be difficult to carry out as they are generally poorly preserved. The team have been advised by scientists that DNA analysis will not be possible, but it is hoped that analysis will reveal further information about the diet of the individuals.

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A 23,000-year-old wall have been found at the entrance to a cave in Thessaly.

The age of the find, determined by an optical dating test, singles it out as “probably one of the oldest in the world”, according to a ministry press release.

“The dating matches the coldest period of the most recent ice age, indicating that the cavern’s paleolithic inhabitants built it to protect themselves from the cold”, said the ministry.

The wall blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the cave, located close to Kalambaka, itself near the popular tourist area and monastic centre of Meteora in central Greece. Greek palaeontologists have been excavating the site for the last 25 years.

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Heavy rains in Greece have unearthed eight tombs, only one of which was intact.

Eight tombs dating to the Hellenist Period were partially revealed recently in the region of Gonous, Larissa prefecture, after flooding caused by heavy rainfall swept away a rural dirt road.

The Archaeological Service subsequently conducted an excavation, which brought to light the tombs which, according to initial assessment, date back to between the end of the 4th century BC and the beginning of the 3rd century BC.

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A shipwreck located off the Greek island of Polyaigos has been designated an underwater archaeological site.

The shipwreck, first spotted in 2004, was initially explored by underwater archaeologists in the fall of 2009, the Athens News Agency reported today. These excavations resulted in the discovery of valuable archaeological objects, including amphorae, ceramic vases and fragments of the vessel’s anchor.

In addition, the shipwreck was photographed and filmed in detail, which allowed the creation of a high-definition photo-mosaic, while procedures have been set in motion to designate the area as an underwater archaeological site.

The analysis of the recovered amphorae dated the wreck to between the end of the fifth century and the first half of the fourth century BC. At least three types of amphorae were identified, one of which originated from ancient Peparithos (the island of Skopelos), while the others were closely identified with Classical Era amphorae workshops of the northern Aegean.??The Polyaigos shipwreck, according to the Ministry’s announcement, cited by the media, sheds light in the study of sea-borne commercial routes of the Classical period and the movement of goods in the southwestern part of the Cyclades island chain.

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