It’s Only a Big Rock--No Wonder

A large rock lifted from the Aegean Sea last Sunday that led to speculation it was part of a hand of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, was just that--a large rock, the head of the Greek Marine Archeological office said Tuesday.

Jorge Papathanasopoulos said the object, which resembled a giant fist, was without archeological value.

The Colossus, cast in bronze and standing about 100 feet tall by the Harbor of Rhodes, was destroyed by an earthquake two centuries before the birth of Christ. It depicted the sun god Helios.

Archeologists who went to Rhodes to examine the find, said the rock had probably been dumped into the harbor two or three years ago and the depressions that resembled knuckles were probably made by the teeth of a mechanical scoop.

One expert masked his disappointment with the comment, “The only good thing to come out of this is that the search for the real Colossus may now be stepped up.”