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2000 year-old Etruscan treasure trove - 9th December 2022

Two dozen perfectly preserved statues dating back to the Etruscan civilisation have been unearthed in Tuscany, Italy.

Lying partially immersed in mud and water in a network of ancient thermal baths near Siena, the 2,300 year old relics represented gods, emperors and children.

The archaeological site, where the discovery was made, is located near one of the most popular modern day spas in Italy and is overseen by archaeological site director Emanuele Mariotti.

Emanuele Mariotti: "People came to this place to heal themselves two thousand years ago and more. And in this place people dedicated objects, statues, coins, bronzes for their own health and salvation, through water, praying to the gods."

The Etruscan civilisation predates the Roman Republic by half a century, and was a thriving culture, before eventually being integrated into the Roman Empire. In the history of Mediterranean archeological findings, the bronze statues are considered the most significant of its kind since 1972. Witnessing the bronze figures' unearthing saw emotions running high, expressed archeologist Michela Ledda.

Michela Ledda: "It was a very strong emotion that I tried to share immediately by looking for the eyes of my companions, because you could not believe it. Let's say that at the beginning you could only see one little foot because it was in a position where only one foot of this statue emerged, but then it turned out to be completely intact. The emotion is huge. These are things that happen I think only once in the life of an archaeologist."

Uncovering a huge cache of coins on site has led archaeologists to speculate that much like the wishing wells of many cultures today, there might have been a belief that throwing coins into sacred pools led to health and prosperity.

This treasure trove's all the more extraordinary having been discovered in situ. During the spread of Christianity, the baths were sealed shut, but crucially, not destroyed. With the heavy stone pillars sealing off the site, the precious treasure was preserved by the mud and boiling water for future civilisations to unearth.