Two Roman portrait herms
Marble, Roman period, first – second centuries CE
On loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority
The two portraits, exposed recently (May 2026) in a salvage excavation near Benyamina (directed by Eliran Oren and Avishag Reiss), are a significant find. The busts were found buried side by side within a filtration vat of a winepress, with their faces down, which suggests an intentional burial already in antiquity.
The herms show portraits of two male individuals, whose detailed depiction is typical of Roman art. The hair, beard and facial features highlight the distinctness of each figure and enable, even today, a direct encounter with the people who the sculptors of antiquity sought to eternalize. One of the herms bears the name Lykourgos in Greek letters.
This is a significant discovery, both due to the quality of the workmanship and the remarkable state of preservation, and due to the portraits’ discovery in the same archaeological context (location). Since these portraits were only found recently, the identification of the figures, the connection between the two, their original display in antiquity and the circumstances of their burial in the winepress’ filtration vat are still being studied.
