Apoxymenos
UNIVERSITY OF ZADAR
Department of archaeology
Anela Muslić
APOXYOMENOS
(seminar)
Zadar,2012.
Apoxyomenos, an ancient bronze statue of an athlete scraping off oil and dust from his body after a competition, was found in 1996. by a Belgian tourist René Wouters, under the sea off the little island of Vele Orjulen close to Lošinj, a Croatian island. The statue was lying on a sandy seabed, stuck between two rocks, at a depth of approximately 45 m. Investigations suggest that it might be an original Greek statue dated back to the 4th century BC, or a Roman copy of this statue. Since only a few original Greek bronze statues remained, Apoxyomenos is an extraordinary example of the world cultural heritage, therefore restoration and determination of its origin is of great importance.
In 1998. this find, of incalculable value, was reported to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. The Ministry of Culture took over the coordination of the project, which envisaged systematic submarine archaeological exploration, the raising of the statue and its conservation-restoration. But before the beginning of the investigation, in spring 1999 Croatian Minister of Culture Božo Biskupić, for security reasons, made a decision that the statue ought to be raised at once, to forestall unlawful diving operations at the site. The raising action involved experts from the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Museum in Zadar, as well as Special Police and professional divers.
The statute was finally brought to the surface on April 27, 1999, and during June that year, extensive underwater investigations at the site were carried out in
Department of archaeology
Anela Muslić
APOXYOMENOS
(seminar)
Zadar,2012.
Apoxyomenos, an ancient bronze statue of an athlete scraping off oil and dust from his body after a competition, was found in 1996. by a Belgian tourist René Wouters, under the sea off the little island of Vele Orjulen close to Lošinj, a Croatian island. The statue was lying on a sandy seabed, stuck between two rocks, at a depth of approximately 45 m. Investigations suggest that it might be an original Greek statue dated back to the 4th century BC, or a Roman copy of this statue. Since only a few original Greek bronze statues remained, Apoxyomenos is an extraordinary example of the world cultural heritage, therefore restoration and determination of its origin is of great importance.
In 1998. this find, of incalculable value, was reported to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. The Ministry of Culture took over the coordination of the project, which envisaged systematic submarine archaeological exploration, the raising of the statue and its conservation-restoration. But before the beginning of the investigation, in spring 1999 Croatian Minister of Culture Božo Biskupić, for security reasons, made a decision that the statue ought to be raised at once, to forestall unlawful diving operations at the site. The raising action involved experts from the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Museum in Zadar, as well as Special Police and professional divers.
The statute was finally brought to the surface on April 27, 1999, and during June that year, extensive underwater investigations at the site were carried out in