In the picturesque town of San Casciano dei Bagni in Tuscany, archaeologists unearthed a rich treasure trove during their latest excavation campaign, as announced by the Italian Ministry of Culture. The finds include gold, bronze statues, thousands of shiny coins with inscriptions, and intact eggs from the time of the Romans and Etruscans.
Many of the artifacts emerged from the bottom of the “del Bagno Grande” pool, including a sea of bronze serpents and extraordinary statues returned from the mud. The pool was once a shrine linked to revered hot springs, where Etruscans and Romans consulted the oracle and made offerings, seeking health and connection to the divine. The hot springs were used for therapeutic purposes from the 3rd century BCE.
Jacopo Tabolli, a professor at the University for Foreigners of Siena, has been leading the research and excavation since 2019, alongside excavation director Emanuele Mariotti and supervisor for the superintendency, Ada Salvi. Presenting the latest findings to the press, Tabolli expressed his enthusiasm for the ongoing discoveries, smiling and referring to them as “an infinite surprise,” according to ANSA.
At a depth of nearly five meters, archaeologists found bronze statues of men and women, including one that was cut lengthwise. Among the artifacts, thousands of coins, a gold crown, a ring, precious stones, and many sculptures of snakes were uncovered. Notably, a majestic bronze serpent nearly one meter long has been unearthed, believed to depict the Agathos Daimon, a bearded god with a snake-like form and horns from Greek mythology. According to the Italian Ministry of Culture, this deity may have been the protector of the springs.
Jacopo Tabolli points out that the serpent “almost seems to smile,” indicating its benign nature. The serpent was deposited at the point where the water flowed, representing the sacredness of the source. Its presence indicates that the source was visited “to have a direct relationship with the deity,” to inquire about the future, confirming that people came to the spring “to question the snake, that is, the spring, about the future,” as reported by ANSA.
“It’s as if the small serpents and the Agathos Daimon, with the waters flowing continuously, brought a message to the deity of the source and to those of health.” Smaller statues of the Agathos Daimon are kept in the British Museum and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, highlighting the significance of the current find.
In addition to the serpents, other notable discoveries include gold crowns—one intact in the form of a tiara, the other in fragments—as reported by ANSA. There were also branches decorated with plants and pine cones, which are believed to have been offerings at the sanctuary. A particularly touching statue from the 2nd century BCE depicts a child standing with a dress, holding a ball that rotates in his palm just as it did over 2,000 years ago. The ball was impeccably reproduced by the artisan, even capturing the thin seams in the bronze.
The child statue seems linked to divination, as explained by Salvi and Mariotti. Experts note, “Children who had the role of little augurs,” pointing out that the statue wears a snake-shaped bracelet. The very high quality of the artifact is surprising, inspired by Alexander the Great. The inscription on the child’s leg cites for the first time the Etruscan city-state of Cleusi, now Chiusi.
Prominent among the larger statues is the trunk cut in half of a male body offered at the spring by a certain Gaius Roscius, who lived in the first century BCE. Tabolli explains, “The healed part was offered,” referring to the long tradition of such offerings.
Moreover, thousands of eggshells were found at the site, as well as whole eggs with small holes through which the yolk is still visible, intact. These offerings, along with the bronze statues and coins, have been preserved in remarkable condition thanks to the warm mud of the springs.
The treasures will be exhibited in a new museum that will open in San Casciano dei Bagni at the end of 2026, as part of the ongoing work to create the Archaeological Thermal Park, Museum, and International Research Hub.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
