Ancient Greek god Apollo.discovered ...[ 3611 ]

Gaza fisherman hooks statue of ancient Greek god Apollo

By Kareem Khadder and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

updated 9:11 AM EST, Thu February 13, 2014

The life-size bronze statue, believed to be a depiction of the ancient Greek god Apollo.

Jerusalem (CNN) -- When fisherman Jawdat Ghurab spotted a dark shape underwater off the shores of Gaza last summer, he at first thought it was a body.

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.

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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.

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'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.