Ancient Rome: Surprisingly Preserved Bronze Statues Discovered in Italy
Ancient Rome: Surprisingly Preserved Bronze Statues Discovered in Italy
Image source, EPA
Italian archaeologists have unearthed 24 beautifully preserved bronze statues in Tuscany, believed to date back to ancient Roman times.
The statues were discovered under the muddy ruins of an old bathhouse in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town in the province of Siena, around 160 km (100 miles) north of the capital Rome.
Depicting Hygieia, Apollo and other Greco-Roman gods, the figures are believed to be around 2,300 years old.
An expert said the discovery could "rewrite history".
The most of the statues - which were found submerged beneath the baths alongside around 6,000 pieces of bronze, silver and gold - date between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. The era marked a period of "great transformation in ancient Tuscany" as the region moved from Etruscan to Roman rule, Italy's culture ministry said.
Jacopo Tabolli, an assistant professor at the University for Foreigners in Siena who is leading the excavations, suggested that the statues were immersed in thermal waters in some sort of ritual. "You give to the water because you hope the water will give you something back," he observed.
The statues, which have been preserved by water, will be taken to a restoration laboratory in nearby Grosseto, before finally being exhibited in a new museum in San Casciano.
Italian archaeologists have unearthed 24 beautifully preserved bronze statues in Tuscany, believed to date back to ancient Roman times.
The statues were discovered under the muddy ruins of an old bathhouse in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town in the province of Siena, around 160 km (100 miles) north of the capital Rome.
Depicting Hygieia, Apollo and other Greco-Roman gods, the figures are believed to be around 2,300 years old.
An expert said the discovery could "rewrite history".
The most of the statues - which were found submerged beneath the baths alongside around 6,000 pieces of bronze, silver and gold - date between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. The era marked a period of "great transformation in ancient Tuscany" as the region moved from Etruscan to Roman rule, Italy's culture ministry said.
Jacopo Tabolli, an assistant professor at the University for Foreigners in Siena who is leading the excavations, suggested that the statues were immersed in thermal waters in some sort of ritual. "You give to the water because you hope the water will give you something back," he observed.
The statues, which have been preserved by water, will be taken to a restoration laboratory in nearby Grosseto, before finally being exhibited in a new museum in San Casciano.
Image source, EPA
