The Statue of Hadrian
Inevitably something is found at the end of the excavation season that must be left for the next season to fully explore. Just a few days after the discovery of the Altar of Zeus Agoraios, exploration of the Great Drain was progressing on the west side of Section Ε when the excavator noted another surprising find: “Digging away earth between cover slab and this block was found Statue of Roman Emperor, preserved from just below kilt to about shoulders, lying at a slant, lower part resting on low end of the fallen cover slab and body slanting down and outward to E.”
The difficulty of making a fuller description and taking photographs is apparent in a later comment, “Earth roof must be supported and large block broken and removed before statue can be taken out” (Nb. Ε III, p. 518). The statue would remain lying in the ground until it could be properly excavated and removed at the beginning of the following season.