The city’s mayor reported on social media that construction workers discovered a white marble head in Rome’s ancient center.
Posting a picture of the mud-covered relic on, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri wrote: “Roma continues to return precious evidence of its past: a splendid intact marble head was found during the works in Piazza Augusto Imperatore attended by the Sovrintendenza.”
Gualtieri added that archaeologists and restorers are currently “busy cleaning and studying the find.” The Capitoline Superintendence preserves, protects, and promotes the capital’s historic and archaeological heritage.
According to the reports of CNN, the stunning piece, presumed to be part of a statue of a female deity, was discovered in a foundation excavated during construction for the “redevelopment of the Mausoleum of Augustus and Piazza Augusto Imperatore,” according to a statement released online by Rome city council. The head was discovered on the eastern side of the area being worked on, according to the report.
The artifact was discovered owing to the “attentive work of the Superintendence’s archaeologists,” according to the statement, and it is anticipated that the find would assist specialists “deepen their knowledge” of the city’s past history.
Capitoline Superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce said that: “The newly found head, of elegant craftsmanship, sculpted in Greek marble, probably belongs to a statue of a female divinity, perhaps Aphrodite, of natural dimensions. [It] shows a refined hairstyle of hair gathered at the back thanks to a ‘tenia,’ a ribbon knotted on the top of the head.” He said that the complete cranium was discovered in the foundation of a late antique wall.
The head, according to Parisi Presicce, has been “reused as building material.” The builders discovered it laying face down, sheltered by a clay bank that serves as the base of the wall. Though it may appear odd that an antiquity was discovered in this state, the superintendent stated that it is not unusual.
“The reuse of works sculptures, even of significant value, was a very common practice in the late Middle Ages, which allowed, as in this case, the successful preservation of important works of art,” he added.
It appears to be from the Augustan era, according to Parisi Presicce. He said conservators and archaeologists now hope to restore it, while also aiming to identify the subject and determine how old it is.