The ancient masterpiece could hardly have found itself in a more difficult or more modern mess.
A fisherman in the Gaza Strip says he found the life-size bronze statue while diving and recounted the details in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published last month. The Palestinian Hamas movement, which rules Gaza, says it confiscated the bronze and is holding it in a secret location pending an investigation. Adding a wrinkle, some archaeologists say they doubt the statue came from the sea and believe it’s from a clandestine dig on land. They say the bronze is a Greek or Roman depiction of the god Apollo, dating back as far as 2,500 years.
