Science News
Divers find ancient bust of Julius Caesar in French river
By DPA
May 14, 2008, 11:32 GMT

Paris - Divers have found what may be the oldest extant bust of Julius Caesar in the Rhone River near the southern French city of Arles, French media reported on Wednesday.

The bust, which shows the Roman ruler as a wrinkled, aging man, has been tentatively dated to the year 46 BC, when Caesar would have been 53. He was stabbed to death by senators two years later.

The French Culture Ministry described the life-sized bust as the 'oldest representation of Caesar known today' and 'typical of the realistic portraits made during the Republican period.'

Three other statues were also found near Arles, which was founded by Caesar at the time the bust was presumably created, including a statue of the god Neptune dating from the third century.