Significant Ancient Statues Revealed at San Casciano dei Bagni
By Heloise Pinto
Earlier this month, it was reported that the excavation of San Casciano dei Bagni, the ancient thermal spa outside of Siena believed to have been built by the Etruscans in the third century BC – which has been ongoing since 2019 – had revealed twenty-four excellently preserved, 2300-year-old bronze statues. Archaeologists led by Jacopo Tabolli, professor at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, recovered the sculptures, which had been buried in layers of mud, protecting them from damaging oxygen and bacteria.
Excavation Site. Photo: Italian Ministry of Culture
The statues date from between the second century BC and the first century AD - a period of conflict in cities like Siena during which the Roman Empire was expanding gradually into the territory of the Etruscans, whose civilisation had thrived in central Italy for hundreds of years beforehand. Ultimately victorious, the Romans largely absorbed the Etruscan culture, which resulted in the burial or destruction of many historical artefacts. It also involved the addition to this particular spa of altars, fountains, and statues for the benefit of its many visitors, who reportedly included the emperor, Augustus.
This discovery, however, is significant because it reveals that at one point during these hostilities, within the walls of this sanctuary at least, there was harmony between wealthy Roman and Etruscan families, such as the Velimna of Perugia and the Marcni in the Siena region, whose names have been identified in Latin and Etruscan inscriptions on some of the sculptures. This evidence of communal worship is contradictory to the traditional characterisation of the period as one of hostility and destruction, and makes new revelations about life here during the transition to Roman rule.
The statues, believed to have been made by local craftsmen, include a large representation of the goddess Hygeia, identifiable by her typical attribute - a snake coiled around her left arm. Although the exact meaning of the snake in relation to the goddess is debated, it is nevertheless consistently included in depictions of Hygeia, and she is often shown feeding it from a patera (or a shallow bowl) in her right hand. This statue’s discovery at San Casciano dei Bagni is fitting because, as one of the daughters of Asklepios, god of healing, she traditionally personified health, cleanliness and the prevention of illness. She was often shown with or standing behind him, but here she seems to have been worshipped in her own right, as this detailed statue tells us.
Hygeia. Photo: Italian Ministry of Culture
Other statues discovered include an Apollo and an ephebe (adolescent male), as well as matrons, children, and Roman emperors. Among them were also found many individual body parts in bronze, representing ailments which the worshippers asked the Gods to heal by casting them into the water, a ceremony believed to have been performed in the first century AD, during which the larger sculptures were removed from their decorative positions around the baths and submerged along with thousands of coins. It was hoped that in return for these offerings, the worshippers would be granted good health. The baths at San Casciano dei Bagni were in use until, in the 5th century AD, the practice was banned in accordance with Christian beliefs.
The statues have been taken to Grosseto for restoration, after which they will go on display at a new, purpose-built museum housed in a 16th century building recently acquired by the Italian ministry of culture. The excavation site is due to become an archaeological park.
Bibliography
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https://www.theflorentine.net/2022/11/09/bronze-statues-discovered-in-tuscany-rewrite-etruscan-and-roman-history/