Bust of Julius Caesar believed to be oldest ever found, Goes on display in France Options

[JGolomb]

Caesar rises: 20 years of water digs on display

Here's the bust when it was found. Check the article for the cleaned up version:


From the article:
ARLES, France — In a dark space in a new exhibition at Arles museum in southern France, underwater sounds play over looped video footage of scientists on underwater digs along the Rhone riverbed.

An intrepid team of archaeologists have been diving for 20 years, struggling with poor visibility, strong currents and flipper-nibbling bullhead catfish to bring up the 500 or so objects now being displayed.

In 2007, just when these Indiana Joneses of the water were ready to hang up their wet suits, they bumped into intriguing column fragments, friezes and chunks of mausoleums.

And then they brought up the most extraordinary buried treasure of all: a bust of Julius Caesar.

The find, dated 46 BC, is all the more remarkable for likely being made during the emperor's lifetime and provides the centrepiece for the exhibition organised by Luc Long, head of the French state department for archaeological, subaquatic and deepsea research.

[M. Porcius Cato]

I expressed my doubts on this identification when the announcement was first made. Here's another doubter too (Mary Beard), expressing my sentiment perfectly in "The face of Julius Caesar? Come off it!"

[sylla]

On an analogous case from a recent Thread.

[JGolomb]

I expressed my doubts on this identification when the announcement was first made. Here's another doubter too (Mary Beard), expressing my sentiment perfectly in "The face of Julius Caesar? Come off it!"

Some comparison:

[sylla]

As cleaverly obseved by "Ed in Alexandria" (from Ms. Beard's blog linked above, May 15, 2008) this can perfectly be not a 'portrait bust' at all, but just the separate carved head previously attached to a full-length statue.

[M. Porcius Cato]

None of the portraits posted above match the coin depictions of Caesar as well as the best-attested 'Tusculum' portrait of Caesar, which portrays the darling of Venus with his characteristic vulture neck and balding pate.