Gaza fisherman hooks statue of ancient Greek god Apollo
updated 9:11 AM EST, Thu February 13, 2014
But once it was hauled to the surface, it became apparent that he'd stumbled across something very different.
The shape turned out to
be that of an exceptionally rare life-size bronze statue, believed to be
a depiction of the ancient Greek god Apollo.
And the discovery has since embroiled Ghurab in controversy and prompted an investigation by authorities.
Ghurab recounted the moment when he spotted the spectacular relic below the water.
"I was fishing along the
Gaza shores to secure some food and money for the family ... when I
noticed a suspicious figure in the sea that took my attention... Shadows
of a human being under the sea," he told CNN.
At first, he thought it
was a "badly mutilated" body, he said. "I put on my goggles, dove
underneath and still couldn't tell what it was. I resurfaced and got
some help from other people and family members and came back, and after
full four hours of trying we managed to get it out of the water and I
was shocked by what I found.
"It was treasure pulled out of the sea."
Ghurab wrapped up the statue, he said, and took it back to his family's house.
And this is where the story gets a little more problematic.
.
Statue listed on eBay
The statue briefly
popped up for sale on online auction site eBay in August 2013, with a
starting price of about $500,000, authorities say.
This raised suspicions
in both the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Interior
Ministry in Gaza, which is governed by the Palestinian Islamist group
Hamas.
Authorities in Gaza asked for the statue to be handed over, as a historical artifact found in Gaza.
The antiquities
authority and the Interior Ministry also opened an investigation into
what they suspected was an illegal attempt to sell the work of art.
"It is against the law
to sell an artifact found in the Palestinian territories and Gaza in an
illegal manner," Ahmad Al-Burch, head of the antiquities department at
the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Gaza, told CNN.
He said the case was being handled by the Ministry of the Interior, while the antiquities authority looks after the statue.
.
'Priceless' artifact
"We are not denying that
the statue was found in the sea -- as a matter of fact, that is a very
authentic and real story," Al-Burch said.
"We are trying to
preserve the statue to show it for the public in the near future. It is a
half-a-ton, priceless piece of bronze artifact that dates back to the
Greek period found in Gaza and depicts the Greek god Apollo."
He said the antiquities
authority was working on a plan for the statue to tour world famous
museums such as the Louvre in Paris, France.
Museum authorities in
Geneva, Switzerland, have already been in touch offering their help to
preserve and repair the statue, and plan for its eventual display in
Gaza, he added.
For Ghurab and his family, the exceptional discovery seems unlikely to land them the financial security they hoped for.
They now hope only that they may get some kind of reward for a find that has excited archaeologists around the world.
CNN's Kareem Khadder wrote and reported from Jerusalem and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London.
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