It is in the province of Siena, in Tuscany, precisely in San Casciano dei Bagni, that Italian archaeologists unearthed some twenty well-preserved bronze statues dating from Roman times. The announcement was made on Tuesday, November 8. These pieces were found in the remains of an ancient thermal establishment, excavated by archaeologists since 2019. According to Massimo Osanna, from the Italian Ministry of Culture, this discovery is one of the most remarkable “in the history of the ancient Mediterranean”. The statues, representing Hygeia (goddess of health and hygiene), Apollo and other Greco-Roman deities, adorned a sanctuary established under the Etruscans and then developed by the Romans, before being immersed in thermal waters in some sort of ritual. They were covered with almost 6,000 pieces of bronze, silver and gold, and the warm, muddy waters helped preserve them “almost like the day they were submerged”said archaeologist Jacopo Tabolli, who is coordinating the excavations.