A Fisherman In Spain Thought He Tripped On A Mossy Rock, But It Turned Out To Be An Ancient Statue Of Mary And Baby Jesus That May Be Over 700-Years-Old
In 2020, a fisherman in Galicia, Spain, tripped on what initially appeared to be a mossy rock while fishing for trout in the Sar River.
But upon closer inspection, he realized that it was no ordinary river rock—it was definitely a statue of some sort.
“I noticed the stone was square, which is odd in a river, and then I looked at its lines, at the cape, and at the shape of the head,” Fernando Brey told a local newspaper. “And I said to myself, ‘There’s something here.'”
Brey sent photos of the find to an expert on artifacts of local heritage, who identified the statue as a depiction of Mary and baby Jesus.
An analysis conducted by Castor and Galicia’s Ministry of Culture dated the figurine to the 14th century, which means it could be over 700 years old.
The moss-covered sculpture was carved out of granite and weighed around 330 pounds. The design was made in the Galician gothic style that was unique to the area.
The features of the piece were hard to decipher since time had caused them to fade. However, researchers were able to determine that the statue’s base was decorated with acanthus leaves and four-petaled flowers.
The figurine portrays Mary with her child nestled on her lap. On either side of Mary, two angels rest on top of her shoulders. They held up her cape or a similar object. The angels’ faces were still visible, but Mary’s was gone. The head of baby Jesus was also missing.
According to a statement put out by the government of Galicia, someone may have removed these features to try to desanctify the icon. The act could have been a sign of social unrest at the time when Galician culture was prospering during the 14th century.
Lux Blue – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The sculpture was likely once part of the wall design of an unknown structure. Officials believe the statue may have hung in a church at a pilgrimage site in Conxo, a community near where the statue was discovered.
Conxo is located on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela, the capital of the Galicia region of Spain.
The territory of Galicia is also home to the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail, which is also known as the Way of St. James in English. Today, tourists still visit the route.
The artifact was removed from the riverbed and taken to the Museum of Pilgrimage and Santiago to be cleaned and studied further.
“Studies should tell us whether this is a very valuable gothic statue,” said Román Rodríguez, the regional minister of culture and tourism.
“But beyond its cultural and historic value, we’ll also need to try to put together the story of this statue: what happened, and how could it remain undiscovered so close to the city for so many centuries? It must be quite a story.”
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