STORM IN ISRAEL UNCOVERS ROMAN STATUE

A huge storm that collapsed part of a cliff on Israel's central coast led to the discovery of a statue dating back to the Roman period, the Israel Antiquities Authority has announced.

The white marble statue of a woman wearing a toga and sandals is estimated to be 2,000 years old. It stands 1.2 meters tall, weighs about 200 kilograms and was found with no head or arms, according to the authority.

A person walking on the shore of the southern city of Ashkelon made the discovery.

"The statue fell into the sea when the ancient maritime cliff collapsed as a result of the storm," said Yigal Israel, the Ashkelon district archaeologist. "The collapse also ruined a bath house and mosaics that had been in the cliff for many hundreds of years."

The storm, one of the strongest Israel has experienced in recent years, brought winds of more than 100 kph that sent 10-meter waves crashing onto Israel's coast.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/14/israel.storm.statue/?hpt=Mid