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Found: Most Brightly Colored Marble Sarcophagus

A bungled looting attempt in Can, Turkey in 1998 has led to the discovery of what has been called the most extensively colored Classical Greek marble sarcophagus yet discovered.

An international team of archaeologists recently reported the find and efforts to save it in the May issue of the journal Studia Troica.

The discovery provides a tangible reminder that the white-washed building and sculptures that survive from antiquity, including the Parthenon, were brightly colored in antiquity. Interestingly, in cases where colored remains had been found on sculpture, archaeologists until recently had not been trained to be conscious or preserving it.

The front of the sarcophagus depicts a man on horseback, probably the deceased, spearing a boar in the eye during a boar and stag hunt. The same man is show in a battle scene spearing a fallen opponent.

For more information and photos of the object, click Colored Sarcophagus.