See the Lion of Knidos at the British Museum

Now found greeting visitors in the Great Court at the British Museum, the six ton Lion of Knidos was once part of a clifftop tomb overlooking Knidos harbour in modern-day Turkey. The Lion was discovered in 1858 near the ancient port by the British archaeologist Richard Popplewell Pullan, three miles from where he was helping to excavate the ancient city.


The Lion dates from 350-200 BC, and is carved from a single piece of marble. It once sat on the very top of a monument on a sheer cliff that falls 200 feet to the sea, and it has been suggested that its hollow eyes were originally inset with coloured glass, the reflection of which might have aided sailors navigating along the coast.

For more, see http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/c/colossal_marble_lion.aspx