[00:01.87]
An unknown goddess[00:10.18]
How did the archaeologists know that the statue was a goddess?[00:15.26]
Some time ago, an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea.[00:23.30]
An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini.[00:31.74]
The city at one time must have been prosperous,[00:35.52]
for it enjoyed a high level of civilization.[00:38.99]
Houses -- often three storeys high -- were built of stone.[00:43.58]
They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls.[00:47.90]
The city was even equipped with a drainage system,[00:51.66]
for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.[00:56.97]
The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times.[01:06.63]
In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found.[01:13.71]
Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted.[01:19.66]
The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the 15th century B.C.[01:26.57]
Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C.[01:32.34]
This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved.[01:37.38]
It was very old and precious even then.[01:41.42]
When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments,[01:44.78]
they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman.[01:50.55]
She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.[01:55.30]
She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground.[01:59.49]
Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed,[02:03.92]
but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.