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A 3,000-Year-Old Village Beneath an Italian Lake Is Revealing Its Bronze Treasures
Archaeologists working beneath the murky waters of Lake Mezzano have uncovered collapsed wooden structures surrounded by pottery and bronze objects, opening a new window onto a village occupied in Italy more than 3,000 years ago. The position of the finds at different depths may now help researchers separate centuries of activity along the changing lakeshore.…
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2,500 Years Later, the Face of an Etruscan Goddess Emerges at Her Own Temple
A terracotta fragment depicting the face of the Etruscan goddess Uni has been unearthed at Pyrgi, an ancient sanctuary on Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast. The discovery was made in the area of Temple B, a sacred building dedicated to the same goddess more than 2,500 years ago. Archaeologists from Sapienza University of Rome recovered the fragment…
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Before Roman Rule, the Sabines Carved This 100-Meter Aqueduct Through Solid Rock
Long before Rome absorbed the Sabine territories of central Italy, communities in the hills northeast of the city were already reshaping the landscape to control water. Archaeologists have now documented a rock-cut aqueduct near the ancient settlement of Trebula Mutuesca, revealing sophisticated engineering from the region’s pre-Roman past. The underground structure was discovered at Monteleone…
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Rare 2,600-Year-Old Cube-Shaped Tomb in Italy Held Cremated Remains Inside a Greek Wine Vessel
A rare Etruscan-era burial built around an imported Greek wine vessel has been discovered beneath the modern town of Pontecagnano Faiano in southern Italy. Dating to the first half of the sixth century BC, the tomb is believed to have belonged to a high-ranking member of the ancient community. Archaeologists uncovered the burial during preventive…
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Submerged Etruscan Harbor Found Off Rome May Be the Oldest Known Linked to a Temple
Archaeologists surveying shallow waters north of Rome have identified a submerged Etruscan harbor that may once have carried sailors directly to a coastal sanctuary. The stone structure lies off Santa Marinella, about 90 meters from the modern shoreline and at an average depth of 1.5 meters. Its construction has been tentatively dated to between the…
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3,000-Year-Old Wheat Ears Found Intact as Ritual Offerings Beneath Italy’s Lake Bolsena
Archaeologists excavating the submerged Gran Carro settlement in Italy’s Lake Bolsena have found intact ears of ancient wheat placed inside ceramic vessels as offerings more than 3,000 years ago. The unusual organic remains survived on the lakebed alongside pottery, wooden structures and traces of a settlement dating back to the Final Bronze Age. The finds…
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2,500-Year-Old Etruscan Ritual Well in Italy Yields Bronze Offerings and Human Remains
Archaeologists excavating the ancient Etruscan city of Kainua in northern Italy have uncovered a 2,500-year-old ritual well containing exceptionally preserved bronze offerings and the remains of two adults. The discovery was made in the sacred quarter of Kainua, near modern Marzabotto in the Emilia-Romagna region, during the 39th excavation campaign led by the University of…
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2,700-Year-Old Untouched Etruscan Tomb Opened in Italy, Revealing Two Burials and Rich Grave Goods
Archaeologists in central Italy have opened a 2,700-year-old untouched Etruscan tomb containing two burials and a rich collection of grave goods, including a spearhead, bucchero cups, storage vessels and at least one aryballos. The tomb was discovered in the Caiolo necropolis within the archaeological area of San Giuliano, near Barbarano Romano in the Lazio region,…
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Italy Acquires the François Tomb, the Etruscan Masterpiece That Still Challenges Rome’s Story
Italy has formally acquired the François Tomb of Vulci, bringing one of the greatest surviving monuments of Etruscan painting into state ownership after more than a century of public interest. The €15 million acquisition, signed at the Ministry of Culture in Rome, places the painted tomb cycle under Italy’s national heritage system. The frescoes will…