- Title: JERUSALEM: RARE ROMAN SCULPTURE OF VENUS DISPLAYED IN JERUSALEM
- Date: 29th March 2005
- Summary: (BN11)JERUSALEM (MARCH 29, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. PAN OF RARE 2ND CENTURY ROMAN VENUS SCULPTURE REVEALED BY ISRAELI ARCHEOLOGISTS AND PRESENTED IN THE MUSEUM OF ISRAEL 0.08 2. CLOSE OF VENUS SCULPTURE 0.20 3. SLV DIRECTOR OF ROMAN AND BYZANTINE ARCHEOLOGY IN THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, DAVID MEVORACH, BRIEFING JOURNALISTS ON SCULPTURE 0.25 4. WIDE OF JOURNALISTS LOOKING AT SCULPTURE 0.32 5. PAN UP OF VENUS SCULPTURE 0.44 6. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF ISRAEL, JAMES SNYDER, SAYING: "This is perhaps the most important Roman find ever excavated in Israel. We are showing it for the first time, in a way it's the centre piece of this exhibition. Of course it is an example of the classical ideal of beauty, for us it is a symbol of the notion of the treatment of beauty, and how objects of beauty achieve sanctified status." 1.06 7. VARIOUS OF VISITORS OBSERVING SCULPTURES AT EXHIBITION 1.22 8. TRAVELLING LINE OF ROMAN SCULPTURES AT EXHIBITION, VENUS SCULPTURE PRESENTED AT THE END OF LINE 1.38 9. CLOSE UP OF SCULPTURE 1.47 10. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF ROMAN AND BYZANTINE ARCHEOLOGY IN THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, DAVID MEVORACH, SAYING: "The magnificent statue of Venus, revealed in Beth She'an, is the most colourful Roman sculpture found until today. It allows us to understand better the image of ancient sculptures and architecture that were all painted in bright colours, reds, yellows, blues and even greens. Originally, put up in a bath in Beth She'an in the Roman period, it stood there long after Christianity was declared the official religion of this country." 2.24 11. VARIOUS DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF ISRAEL, JAMES SNYDER, TALKING TO REPORTER/ VISITORS AT EXHIBITION 2.34 12. CLOSE OF ROMAN STATUTE/ VENUS SCULPTURE IN THE BACKGROUND 2.45 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 13th April 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: JERUSALEM
- City:
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVA3DMH1A6PBWJPNIWADVX6XZJ6I
- Story Text: Archaeologists reveal rare 2nd Century CE Roman
Venus Sculpture.
Jerusalem's Israel Museum said on Tuesday (March 29)
it has revealed a rare and well-preserved 2nd century AD
Roman Venus sculpture.
"This is perhaps the most important Roman find ever
excavated in Israel. We are showing it for the first time,
in a way it's the centre piece of this exhibition. Of
course it is an example of the classical ideal of beauty,
for us it is a symbol of the notion of the treatment of
beauty, and how objects of beauty achieve sanctified
status," James Snyder, Director of the Museum of Israel
told Reuters television ahead of the opening of the
exhibition.
The statue of Venus was discovered in 1993 by the
Institute of Archaeology headed by professors from the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem. It dates back to Beth
She'an's Roman period, which flourishes between the 1st and
4th centuries AD.
Unearthed in Beth She'an in the Jordan Valley, other
Roman sculptures were discovered during the excavations,
but Venus was considered the most remarkable of the items.
"The magnificent statute of Venus, revealed in Beth
She'an, is the most colourful Roman sculpture found until
today. It allows us to understand better the image of
ancient sculptures and architecture that were all painted
in bright colours, reds, yellows, blues and even greens.
Originally it was put up in a bath in Beth She'an in the
Roman period, it stood there long after Christianity was
declared the official religion of this country" explained
David Mevorach, Director of Roman and Byzantine Archeology
in the Museum of Israel.
Discovered without a head, hands or feet, the naked
modeled Venus was broken into pieces and covered with a
thin layer of travertine which adhered to the sculptures
surface over 1,250 years that it lay under ruins.
Israel's Antiquities Authority and Israel's Museum's
Objects Restoration Laboratory worked on cleaning and
restoring the statue for almost a decade.
The life-size sculpture is the centerpiece of an
exhibition titled "The Beauty of Sanctity: Masterworks from
Every Age" on view from March 29 through October 29, 2005,
featuring objects from ancient to contemporary times.
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