Italian archaeologists announced on Tuesday the unprecedented discovery of more than 20 ancient bronze statues, extracted from the mud of ancient sacred hot springs in Tuscany in an almost perfect state of preservation after two millennia.
The statues represent deities worshipped at the San Casciano Dei Bagni sanctuary, which was established in the Etruscan period before being developed under the Romans, according to the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Various items, including religious offerings and about 5,000 gold, silver and bronze coins were also unearthed during the three-year excavations at the site, which usually attracts visitors to its thermal waters.
This is an “unparalleled” discovery that will shed light on the period during which these bronzes were sculpted – some time between 200 BC and 100 AD – hailed Jacopo Tabolli, an Etruscan-age specialist who is leading the project.
“The Tuscan site contains the largest quantity of bronze statues of the Etruscan and Roman age ever discovered in ancient Italy and is one of the most significant in the entire Mediterranean,” Tabolli added.
“This is unprecedented, especially because until now it is mainly terracotta statues that are known from this period,” he said.
The ones in San Casciano represent, among others, the Greek mythological characters of Apollo or Aeneas. An interesting element is how the hot waters from the nearby baths preserved the pieces so well that inscriptions in Etruscan and Latin are still visible, including the names of powerful Etruscan families.
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“This is certainly one of the most significant discoveries of bronzes in the history of the ancient Mediterranean,” said Massimo Osanna, Director of the Italian state museums.
The bronzes discovered in Tuscany will be at the heart of a future new museum, which will eventually be completed by an archaeological park.
