Two thousand years they waited to see the light of day again. Italian archaeologists announced on Tuesday, November 8, the unprecedented discovery of more than twenty ancient bronze statues, extracted from the sludge of ancient sacred hot springs in Tuscany, in an almost perfect state of preservation.
The statues represent deities worshiped at the sanctuary of San Casciano dei Bagni, established in the Etruscan period before being developed by the Romans, according to Italy’s culture ministry. The hot waters preserved the excavated pieces so well that Etruscan and Latin inscriptions are still visible, including the names of powerful Etruscan families.
Offerings as well as about 5,000 gold, silver and bronze coins were also unearthed during three years of excavations, on this site which attracts visitors for its thermal waters. This is a discovery ” unmatched “ which will shed light on the period during which these bronzes were melted, between – 200 BC and 100 AD, welcomed Jacopo Tabolli, specialist who is leading the project.
” Unprecedented “
“The Tuscan site houses the largest quantity of Etruscan and Roman bronze statues ever discovered in ancient Italy. It is one of the most significant in the whole Mediterranean”adds Mr. Tabolli.
“This is unprecedented, especially because so far it is mainly terracotta statues that are known from this period”, he specified. Those of San Casciano represent among others Apollo or Hygeus, goddess of health in Greek mythology.
“It is certainly one of the most significant bronze discoveries in the history of the ancient Mediterranean”also highlighted Massimo Osanna, director general of the Italian State Museums, and the most important since the warriors or bronzes of Riace, two Greek sculptures found in 1972 in southern Italy and dating from the Ve century BC
