Each of the statues that are placed opposite each other is 1.45 metres high and weighs 1.5 tons. They were made of Thassos marble and archaeologists believe that the same master had cut both the sphinxes and the statue of the Lion of Amphipolis that had adorned the top of the tomb.

Konstantinos Sgouros from Kalamata, aged 26 and Yiannis Komatis from Samos, aged 25, were killed near Kalamata on Monday night. Two local young men, aged 19, were detained and questioned for the brutal murder.