At least four Kouros-type statues from the Archaic era were among four unearthed during excavations in October by the ephorate of antiquities of Fthiotida and Evrytania in the wider area of Atalanti in central Greece.

Archaeologists commenced digging in the area after a landowner in Atalanti reported that he found the trunk of a naked male statue as he was tilling his field.

Kouros is the name given to free-standing ancient Greek sculptures representing nude male youths. They first made their appearance in the Archaic period.

Their figures began to appear in Greece about 615–590 BC. While many aspects of the kouroi directly reflect Egyptian influence—especially the application in some kouroi of the contemporary Egyptian canon of proportions—they gradually took on distinctly Greek characteristics.

Unlike the Egyptian sculptures, the kouroi had no explicit religious purpose, serving, for example, as tombstones and commemorative markers.

They ocaasionally represented the god Apollo, but they also depicted local heroes, such as athletes.

The life-size kouroi are in very good condition while parts of an ancient cemetery were also discovered.

According to the Greek Ministry of Culture, the larger of the four is 1.22 meters (4 feet) in height and survives from the head to the thighs. It depicts a standing, bearded young man with the left leg extended.

Smaller segments of the other three kouroi were also unearthed and transferred to the Atalanti museum for further examination.

Excavations continue in the area where the ancient cemetery was located.

Read also: Mysterious structure discovered during excavations at the Laona tumulus in Cyprus