The sculpture had been stuffed between cabinets in the warehouses of the Archaeological Museum in Vergina, a town in the northern part of the country. Archaeologists found the sculpture many years ago near the town and was presumably forgotten about. Staff cleaning the museum's storage rooms found the sculpture, which had been crammed between crates that contained pottery.

Museum director Angeliki Kottaridi, who announced the find, said that the sculpture would soon feature in a new Alexander exhibit at the museum.

The famous young king helped his father, King Philip II of Macedon, win an important victory over Greek forces and then succeeded in achieving his father's vision of conquering the mighty Persian Empire in the 4th Century B.C. Alexander, at the head of a large army, conquered most of the known world and ushered in the Hellenistic Age in Europe and Asia. He died under mysterious circumstances, and his tomb has yet to be found.