Laurence Dollimore
AN ‘extraordinary’ 2,500-year-old statue of a lioness has been unearthed by an olive farmer in Andalucia.
The artefact was uncovered by Gonzalo Crespo in La Rambla, Cordoba, and is in perfect condition.
Crespo stumbled upon the artwork while ploughing his olive grove on Wednesday.
“I thought ‘what is this?’… At first I thought it was just a stone,” the man, from San Sebastian de los Ballesteros, told Diario Cordoba.
The piece depicts a lioness devouring another animal and is believed to have been created around the year 4 BC.
Crespo quickly recognised he had found something significant and called the Guardia Civil.
The lioness was transferred to the Archaeological Museum of Cordoba where it will be studied by experts from the Ministry of Culture and the Junta de Andalucia.
The Iberian treasure could be ‘an extraordinary find’ due to its size, experts said.
