An archaeological excavation campaign in the ancient baths of San Casciano dei Bagni, in the Italian Tuscany, has brought to light 24 perfectly preserved bronze statues, as well as votive offerings and 5,000 gold, silver and bronze coins, in which it is considered one of the most exceptional discoveries in ancient history.
Protected for 2,300 years by the mud and hot water of the baths, the statues, almost a meter high, have not suffered any damage and represent, according to the general director of Italian museums, Massimo Osanna, "the most important find since the Riace Bronzes, the most significant bronzes ever found in the history of the ancient Mediterranean, were rescued from the sea”, 50 years ago.
Most of the figures were built between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, a period in which ancient Tuscany underwent important transformations due to the conflicts between Rome and the Etruscan cities. It was a phase in which the expansion of the power of Rome also meant the birth of a multicultural context in this sanctuary, which existed at least from the third century BC. until it was closed –but not destroyed– in the 5th century AD, in the Christian period.
For this reason, according to the etruscologist in charge of the excavation – which began in 2019 – Jacopo Tabolli, the sanctuary, with its statues, “appears as a research laboratory on cultural diversity in antiquity, a unique testimony of Etruscan mobility and Roman. It is a "discovery that will rewrite history and on which more than 60 experts from all over the world are already working", added the archaeologist, speaking of a deposit that has already become the largest of bronze statues from the Roman period and Etruscan ever discovered in Italy.
The bronzes of San Casciano represent the divinities venerated in this sacred place, as well as figurines in the shape of organs and other parts of the body for which the ancients requested a curative intervention through the baths. Among the deities venerated in this sacred place have appeared effigies of Apollo and Hygieia, the goddess of healing, but also a bronze reminiscent of the famous Arringatore, a famous 1st century statue found in Perugia also known as "the orator" who honored Aulus Metellus, an Etruscan senator who acquired Roman citizenship.
Tabelli, a professor at the University for Foreigners of Siena, points out that it is exceptional that the statues were made in bronze and not in terracotta, as was usual, so it is very likely that they were commissioned by noble families. The water has also perfectly preserved inscriptions in Etruscan and Latin where the names of powerful Etruscan families in the territory are read, such as the Velimna of Perugia or the Marcni in the Siena area. The Latin inscriptions speak of the “aquae calidae”, the hot springs of the Bagno Grande, where they were placed before they were submerged until now.
These hot springs, considered a sacred place where the presence of the gods was felt, were a common destination at the time for those who wanted the divinities to intercede in their sorrows or fulfill their wishes. That is why they threw coins, in addition to the votive offerings, which have appeared in the background. The pond was sealed with heavy stone columns that have allowed the treasure to remain intact until now. According to Tabolli, the sanctuary became a "bubble of peace" for the ancients, and shows how "also in historical times when the most tremendous conflicts were faced, inside these tanks and in these altars two worlds, the Etruscan and Latin, seemed to coexist without problems".
The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, has celebrated an "exceptional discovery" which, in his opinion, "confirms once again that Italy is a country of immense and unique treasures". "The stratification of various civilizations is a unique case of Italian culture," he added, saying that the finding will be one more reason to develop tourism in the area and they are already working to create a museum adapted to them in San Casciano . The statues have been moved to a restoration laboratory in Grosseto, also in Tuscany, Italy, but will later be returned to San Casciano dei Bagni to be displayed in a 16th-century palace that has just been bought for this purpose.
