Italian archaeologists are amazed by the discovery of 24 stunningly preserved bronze statues in Tuscany, believed to be around 2,300 years old, dating to pre-Roman times, and thousands of coins found as well.
Beautifully preserved pre-Roman bronze statues discovered in Italy
Italy’s Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday that a trove of at least 24 remarkably well-preserved bronze statues was discovered in an ancient Tuscan thermal spring that archaeologists say could rewrite history, NBC reported.
The statues were found under the mighty ruins of an ancient bathhouse and a hilltop town called San Casciano dei Bagni, in the Siena province, roughly 100 miles north of Italy’s capital city of Rome, BBC reported. Most of the statues were found submerged beneath the baths.
The figures depict Hygieia, Apollo, and other Greco-Roman gods and are estimated to be about 2,300 years old. The mud had a preserving effect on the figures, maintaining them in pristine condition.
The dig began in 2019, but the statues were only found last month.
“What has re-emerged from the mud at San Casciano dei Bagni is a unique opportunity to rewrite the history of ancient art and with it the history of the passage between the Etruscans and Romans in Tuscany,” Jacopo Tabolli, an assistant professor from the University for Foreigners in Siena who led the excavation, said in a statement.
History-changing find
This era in Italy’s history was punctuated by wars and conflicts across regions that are now Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, Komo News reported. However, the bronze statues show evidence that Etruscan and Roman families prayed together to deities in the sacred sanctuary of the thermal springs.
This idea is furthered by depictions of Apollo and Igea, the ancient Greek god and goddess of health, which bear both Etruscan and Latin inscriptions.
“While there were social and civil wars being fought outside the sanctuary … inside the sanctuary, the great elite Etruscan and Roman families prayed together in a context of peace surrounded by conflict,” Tabolli said. “This possibility to rewrite the relationship and dialectic between the Etruscan and Romans is an exceptional opportunity.”
Thousands of silver and gold coins found
In addition to the statutes, archaeologists found about 6000 coins made of bronze, silver, and gold. The currency has a number of dates that range between the 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD.
The Italian culture ministry said the era marks a “great transformation in ancient Tuscany” period as the area transitioned from Etruscan to Roman rule.
