COINS AND STATUES FOUND IN ITALY MUD

 

A trove of more than 20 bronze statues discovered buried in thermal mud at a Tuscan spa town is the biggest find of its kind in Italy and will rewrite ancient Roman and Etruscan history, experts claimed.

The two dozen statues and votive offerings, as well as nearly 6,000 silver, gold and bronze coins, were found last month deep in an ancient thermal bathing pool excavated in San Casciano dei Bagni near Siena.

 

Most bronze statues from antiquity were later melted down, which is why this collection is the most important find in the Mediterranean in decades — there are inscriptions with the names of gods we've never heard of, said Massimo Osanna, the director-general of museums at Italy's culture ministry.

The statues, which include Apollo and Igea, the ancient Greek god and goddess of health, were offerings to the deities by wealthy families at the site where thermal water gushed from the earth.

One states ‘this statue and six others were given for the health of my wife' — these people were clearly the local elite, Osanna said.

What is emerging from the mud at San Casciano dei Bagni is a unique occasion to rewrite the history of ancient art, as well as the handover from the Etruscans and Romans in Tuscany, he added.

He added: The statues have wrinkles, which is typical of that Roman realism.

David writes:

To read the complete article, see:
By the gods! Ancient bronze statues rise from mud in Italy (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/by-the-gods-ancient-statues-rise-from-tuscan-mud-c5gz0jsn5)

 

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