Why 24 Roman Statues Were Found in a Hot Spring | Old News Ep.1

Welcome to Old News, a series exploring the latest discoveries about the ancient world, along with the analysis and interpretation that give those finds meaning. Today, we'll begin with San Cassiano dei Bagni, a picturesque town nestled among the hills of southern Tuscany. The Bagni, in the town's name, refer to hot springs that have drawn visitors since antiquity. Before the rise of Rome, this region was controlled by the Etruscans, who built a healing sanctuary around the largest of the springs. Worshippers prayed to Apollo, Fortuna, and the goddess of the spring for healing, and threw coins and figurines into the pool as offerings. Wealthy families, first Etruscan, then Roman, commissioned elegant statues, which were positioned around the pool. During the reign of Tiberius, lightning struck the sanctuary. In keeping with Roman religious practice, the statues damaged by the strike were ritually buried. In this case, within the spring itself, beneath a layer of tiles and a bronze thunderbolt that symbolized the lightning strike. There they remained until the recent excavation of the spring. No fewer than 24 bronze statues, all in nearly pristine condition, were recovered. They date from the third century B.C. to the time of Augustus, and show a fascinating mix of Roman and Etruscan artistic styles and clothing. Most are portraits of people who had been healed at the sanctuary, or hoped to be. Their hands are outstretched in prayer, and their eyes turned up toward the gods. The statues will be housed in a museum near the site of their discovery. Currently, they are being exhibited in other Italian cities, including Naples, where I saw them in the Archaeological Museum. Speaking of Naples, at Pompeii, a short distance away, a long-term project to shore up the retaining walls between the excavated and un-excavated parts of the site has produced a series of exciting discoveries. Many of these have made the news over the past six years. A child's drawing of gladiators, sketched in charcoal on a wall. A spectacular fresco of Leta and the Swan. A painting of what appeared to be an ancient Roman pizza. I'd like to focus, however, on the Thermopolium, a bar and fast food restaurant that was recently opened to visitors. Like almost all of Pompeii's fast food restaurants, the Thermopolium had a service counter. Remarkably, this counter was decorated with frescoes, which have survived almost intact. Besides a Nereid riding a seahorse and a fierce-looking guard dog, they show some of the foods served in the restaurant, including ducks and a chicken. We know that these birds were on the menu thanks to analysis of the bones found in the earthenware containers that studded the counter. Alongside chicken and duck, diners were served snails, pork, goat, and fish. That bones from all of these creatures were found in the same place has led some scholars to speculate that their meat was combined into a paella-like dish. It's more likely, however, that the bones were simply being disposed of together. At Herculaneum, Pompeii's sister city, the most exciting new developments have taken place remotely, as scholars from around the world race to virtually unwrap and read the famous carbonized scrolls discovered in the Villa of the Papyri. Check out the linked video for more details. The site itself, however, has been improved by the opening of the ancient beach to visitors. Back in the 80s, an extension of the excavated area revealed Herculaneum's waterfront, complete with a row of boat sheds. Inside the sheds, the archaeologists found the bones of more than 300 people killed by the pyroclastic flow, and heat so intense that it seared the brain of one victim into a chunk of volcanic glass. The bones were replaced with replicas, which continue to fascinate visitors. For a long time, the boat sheds and their bones could only be viewed from a narrow walkway. Now, however, the water that covered the beach has been paved over with gravel, and it's possible to walk the ancient waterfront, closer than ever before to the life and death of a Roman city. Thanks for watching this first episode of Old News. Stay tuned for future episodes on new discoveries and developments. In the meantime, for more content and commentary, check out my Patreon page, which is linked on screen and in the description.