Heads of three marble statues found at Roman city of Aquinum

A team of archaeologists from the University of Salento has discovered three splendid marble heads from the early Imperial era at the Roman colony of Aquinum located in the municipality of Castrocielo in the province of Frosinone in the Lazio region of Italy.

Credit: La Repubblica

The exceptional discovery took place during the periodic excavation campaigns since 2009 directed by Prof. Giuseppe Ceraudo of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Salento, on concession of the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Environment for the provinces of Frosinone, Latina and Rieti.

The current excavation campaign has investigated a new section in the heart of the Roman city, near the still emerging ruins of the theatre, the Temple of Diana and the great Central Baths (the Balneum of Marcus Veccius). This new investigation is the direct consequence of an intense aerial reconnaissance survey carried out at Aquinum with drones.

Credit: La Repubblica

The aerial images clearly showed traces of buried structures thought to be the remains of a large porticoed building along the Via Latina, perhaps to be connected, given its central position within the Colony, with the area of the Forum.

During the course of the excavations, the corner of a monumental portico was in fact revealed along with three splendid marble heads: the first is the fragmentary figure of a bearded man, most probably Herakles, the second one with an austere female face and veiled head, and the third of another male figure, said to bear "a strong resemblance to the rare portraits of one of the undisputed protagonists of the history of Rome, the great Julius Caesar."

More and more finds are slowly coming to light in the area between the Temple of Diana and the large Central Baths. In fact, as head of the excavations Giuseppe Ceraudo of the University of Salento points out, it is a tiny part of what might be hidden under the ground.

"The area of Aquinum exceeds 100 hectares' explains Ceraudo. "What we are analyzing... is only 8 hectares. And in particular, the area where we found the heads is only one hectare, which means that we have explored only one percent of the site."

Ceraudo is certain that continuing excavations will yield "discoveries that will tell us more about the history of the Roman era in all its magnificence. And who knows, we may even find the rest of the statues of Caesar, Hercules and the woman."

Source: L'inchiesta [October 07, 2018]