Twin Tyrannies

An archaeological find evokes a totalitarian moment:

PARIS (AFP) - French archaeologists said Wednesday they had discovered a cache of shattered Soviet-era statues in a chateau north of Paris...

Broken heads and limbs from the giant statues -- which measured 2.5 to 3 metres -- were discovered piled inside several 17th-century ice chests in the chateau in Baillet-en-France in 2004, the INRAP archaeology institute said.

They also found a series of sculpted stone disks, originally from far-flung parts of the Soviet empire including Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Researchers identified the works as part of the Soviet pavillion at the 1937 arts and techniques exhibition in Paris, a vast display depicting allegories of the 11 Soviet republics -- pitched opposite the pavillion from Nazi Germany.