Archaeologists think 16-inch-high statuette may have been part of larger sculpture and they wonder how it ended up in Byzantine floor.

The statue itself probably dates to the Roman era, but it was originally part of a larger statue, possibly a life-size statue of a god or goddess,’ reports lan Ben Zion at The Times of Israel.

A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. Credits: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

‘It’s interesting because the statuette was lying face down, so it was impossible to see its appearance,’ Alexander Fraiberg, head archaeologist with the IAA team, said. Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Rina Avner explained that ‘it’s possible that the [full] statue was of the [Greek] goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, who was born from seafoam.’ Statues of Aphrodite, such as the Aphrodite Pudica with Eros Astride a Dolphin at the Dayton Art Institute, depict her alongside a cetacean, symbolizing her origins.

‘It’s interesting because the statuette was lying face down, so it was impossible to see its appearance.’ Credits: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Researchers believe that the larger statue might have been of Poseidon, god of the sea, who was often depicted with dolphins.

Both Aphrodite and Poseidon appear on contemporary coins from the nearby ancient port city of Ashkelon, which was also home to a major temple to the goddess of love.

‘The mystery,’ said Fraiberg, ‘is where the statue came from, who destroyed it, when, and under what circumstances, and who brought the piece with the dolphin to the site.’