According to news from TASS, a unique terracotta statue has been found at the site of the Kerch Strait Bridge construction connecting Crimea to mainland Russia. Underwater digging and exploration near the Ak-Burun Cape, uncovered a “first of a kind” statue, according to Sergei Olkhovsky, head of the underwater unit of Russia’s Academy of Sciences.
Olkhovsky went on to discribe the dramatic find, saying this kind of discovery “has never been unearthed before in the area”. The unique artifact is set to undergo study in order to figure out what it was used for, when and where it was made, with renown ancient Greek art experts.
Believed to be part of a much larger sculpture, the new discovery is atypical of mass-produced terracotta artifacts from the sixth century BC, which are usually not more than 40 centimeters tall. Two diver teams are operating in the area where the artifact was found. Also in the news, the archeologists plan to conclude the excavation near the Ak Burun Cape by this summer.
In the meantime, the unearthed artifacts will be handed over to the Eastern Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum and Reserve. The Crimea Bridge information Center elaborated that for more than 2,000 years, the Ak Burun Cape area of the Kerch Bay had served as the main shipping conduit and base on the trade route connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Azov.
In earlier news from Crimea, Russian archaeologists found ancient coins and remains of ancient waterworks, as well as noble burial places at the construction site of the Kerch Strait Bridge.
When the construction site was under discussion, experts allocated extra time for archeological research, given the richness of the area. The bridge is set to open in the spring of 2018. The Kerch Strait Bridge will connect the Kerch peninsula in Crimea with the Taman Peninsula in the Krasnodar Region.