Some time agoan interesting discovery was made
by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea.
An AmeriCan team explored
a temple which stands in an
ancient city on the promontory of Ayia
Irini.The city at one time must have
been prosperous,for it enjoyed a high
level of civilization.Houses--often three
storeys high--were built of stone.They
had large rooms with beautifully decor-
ated walls.The city was even equipped
with a drainage system,for a great many
clay pipes were found beneath the narrow
streets.
The temple which the archaeologists
explored was used as a place of worship
from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times.
In the most sacred room ofthe temple,
clay fragments of fifteen statues were found.
Each of these represented a goddess and had,
at one time, been painted. The body of one statue
was found among remains dating from
the fifteenth century B.C. Its missing head happened
to be among remains of the fifth century B.C.;
This head musthave been found in Classical times
and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then.
When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments,
they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out
to be a very modern-looking woman.
She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hip.
She was wearing a full length skirt which swept the ground.
Despite her great age,she was very graceful indeed, but, so far,
the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.
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