After 2,000 years of soaking in hot water, 24 perfectly preserved bronze statues were discovered
ROME—The discovery of 24 perfectly-preserved bronze statues dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. at a thermal spa in Tuscany has given archeologists a rare glimpse at the past that may just “rewrite History ,” they say. The discovery was made at the San Casciano dei Bagni spa in Tuscany, which boast millennia-old natural thermal springs that attract tourists to the town to soak in the same thermal waters as emperors did. Archeologists were hoping to uncover the original thermal bath basin when they found the first hands protruding from the oozing thermal mud two weeks ago. Since then, 24 statues, including replicas of Hygieia, the goddess of health with a snake coiled on her arm, alongside Apollo and other deities, matrons and emperors, emerged. “This is the most important discovery from the Riace Bronzes and certainly one of the most significant bronzes ever made in the history of the ancient Mediterranean,” Massimo Osanna, Italy’s director general of museums for the Cu...