‘Exceptional’ discovery as ancient bronze statues emerge in Tuscany

Archaeologists in Italy have found more than two dozen beautifully preserved bronze statues dating back to ancient Roman times in thermal baths in Tuscany, in what experts are hailing as an “exceptional” discovery.

The statues were found over the last two weeks in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town about 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Rome where archaeologists have been exploring ancient ruins for the last three years.

“It is a very significant, exceptional finding,” Jacopo Tabolli, an assistant professor from the University for Foreigners in Siena who is leading the archaeological project, said on Tuesday.

Tabolli said the statues — which according to Italy’s ANSA news agency are 2,300 years old — used to adorn a sanctuary before they were immersed in thermal waters, in a sort of ritual, “probably around the 1st century AD.”

“You give to the water because you hope that the water gives something back to you,” he said of the ritual. — Reuters