A votive deposit never seen before has re-emerged these days from the excavations of San Casciano dei Bagni , in Tuscany, with over 24 bronze statues of very refined workmanship , five of which almost one meter high, all intact and in perfect condition . Protected for 2300 years from the mud and boiling water of the sacred tanks, the site today offers “a discovery that will rewrite history and on which over 60 experts from all over the world are already at work”, announces the archaeologist Jacopo Tabolli.
The findings include the statue of the young ephebe , that of Hygieia - the goddess of health who was the daughter or wife of Asclepius - with a snake coiled on her arm. Still partially submerged by water, Apollo can also be glimpsed. Then again divinities, matrons, children, emperors. Arranged partly on the branches of a huge tree trunk fixed to the bottom of the tank , in many cases covered with inscriptions, the statues as well as the countless ex-votos, come from the great families of the territory and beyond, exponents of the elites of the Etruscan world. and then Roman, landowners, local lords, wealthy classes of Rome and even emperors.
An “absolutely unique” treasure , underlines Tabolli , which includes an extraordinary amount of inscriptions in Etruscan and Latin , thousands of coins and a series of vegetable offerings . The Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano has already visited the restoration laboratory. "An exceptional find that confirms once more that Italy is a country made up of immense and unique treasures . The stratification of different civilizations is unique in Italian culture", underlines the head of the Roman College.
"The most important discovery from the Riace Bronzes and certainly one of the most significant bronzes ever made in the history of the ancient Mediterranean", comments the dg Musei del MiC , who has just approved the purchase of the sixteenth-century building that will house in the village of San Casciano the wonders returned by the Bagno Grande. A real archaeological park will be added to the museum in the future.
