It seems that people 1,700 years ago enjoyed the same battles of endurance that you might find today in a country pub. Archaeologists have uncovered a marble sarcophagus from the Roman era in Caesarea, Israel. Haut-relief sculptures on the sarcophagus show a wine-drinking contest between Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, and the legendary Roman hero, Hercules.<\/p>\n
A joint team from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Caesarea Development Corporation found the sarcophagus buried beneath a sand dune outside the city\u2019s ancient walls. Excavation leaders Nohar Shahar and Shani Amit described the discovery as something out of a movie.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe began brushing away the light sand of the dune when the tip of a marble object suddenly emerged,\u201d they recalled. \u201cThe whole team gathered around, and as we cleared more sand, we could hardly believe what we were seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n