Ancient statues found

Athens: A Greek farmer’s recent discovery of a fragment of an ancient statue while tilling his field has yielded three more statues and several graves in the past month.

Archaeologists have been busy since midOctober, digging part of a field near the central Greek town of Atalanti, 150km northwest of Athens. The dig began after the farmer found the torso of an ancient kouros (young man) and immediately alerted the authorities.

Greece’s Culture Ministry says a total of four large fragments of lifesize limestone statues of young men have been found, along with a triangular statue base.

All include torsos, and the largest fragment includes a head.

Deeper down, seven graves with several unspecified findings have been unearthed, probably part of a larger cemetery.