KALYMNOS

It's raining statues on Kalymnos In the last six months more and more statues are found on the island of Kalymnos, Greece. The statues, which date from the 6th c. BCE to the 1st c. CE, are found around a christian church where the ancient temple of Delian Apollo stood.

Anistoriton September 9, 2001

In February 2002, I Kathimerini reported:

"A Kalymnos goatherd's family and three of his neighbors are to share a 100-million-drachma (294,000-euro) reward for turning in over three dozen ancient works of sculpture found in a local field, following a decision late on Tuesday by the Culture Ministry. Michalis Halkitis discovered 37 marble statues and fragments of statues last March while digging a cistern in his fields near the early Christian basilica of the Jerusalem Christ. "I found the first statue and went on digging, finding more," he told the ministry's Central Archaeological Council. "But seeing that there was no end to them, I contacted the archaeological service." The council set a value of 398 million drachmas (1.17 million euros) on the group, most of which were made between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. Archaeologists believe the statues were connected with a nearby temple of Apollo, and may have been buried at the time of the islanders' conversion to Christianity."

The finds, still closely guarded, have turned out to be some of the most spectacular in Greece in recent years, and include a great statue of Asclepius,

Kalymnos Island News Archive

John Ezard's report, in the 'Guardian' of June 16, 2001, on the remarkable new Apollo of Kalymnos and the 42 other statues found there.

The new Kalymnos Museum

History of Kalymnos - nicely illustrated and a good survey, though in rudimentary English.

The Travel Guru: Kalymnos - one of the better general travel-tourist guides to the island.