Marble torso found in Roman Forum dig

A large white marble torso has been found by archaeologists of the Capitoline Superintendence for Cultural Heritage engaged in the archaeological excavation of Via Alessandrina, a 16th century road running through the Roman Forum.

Credit: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

The 1.5 metre tall torso is thought to belong to one of about 60-70 statues of Dacian warriors that once decorated the Forum of Trajan, dating from the beginning of the second century AD.

Credit: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Credit: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

The archaeologists of the Capitoline Superintendence say that the statue was found among rubble in an area abandoned after a collapse dating back to the time of the medieval demolitions, presumably in the second half of the ninth century AD.

A head of a god, believed to be Dionysus, was found there earlier this month.

Source: Parco archeologico del Colosseo [July 19, 2019]