2,600-Year Old Stone Head of Apollo Donated To Bulgarian Historical Museum

A benefactor requesting anonymity has turned in a stone head – probably from a statue of Apollo – discovered in a potato field near the village of Alexandrovo, Stara Zagora district to the National Historical Museum (NHM).

The donation was made with the co-operation of the General Directorate of the Interior Ministry.

The head bears resemblance to an archaic sculpture and has been dated back to VI century BC, i.e. it is at least 2,600 years old. The wonderfully preserved head of an ancient deity is decorated with a wreath and will be exhibited in the exposition of NHM immediately after it has been cleaned, announced the Director of the museum Bozhidar Dimitrov.

“We have a few heads at the museum but this is the first one with its nose preserved. When destroying the statues of ancient gods, Christians hit with hammers the face of the deity and broke the nose and chin, defacing it. This is why this discovery is so precious. At the Louvre, we exhibited a statue of Apollo without a head from Apolonia (Sozopol) and it caused a sensation. I was amazed by the discovery. It has archaic features which remind us of the works of the Etruscans. Apollo is a god who was worshipped by the Thracians as well,” added Dimitrov.

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