The Romans are Coming! Hide the Good Stuff!

Source: www.repubblica.it (see link below)

Two rare female bronze statues dating to the fifth and fourth centuries BC have been found in Graviscae, the port town of Tarquinia and an important center for trade in the Mediterranean. On the heels of the discovery of a completely intact tomb in the Doganaccia area in Tarquinia, archaeologists have announced this new find. An Italian article is here, with English summary here. A short slideshow can be found here. The dig is being conducted by the University of Perugia in conjunction with the Soprintendenza of Archaeological Heritage in Southern Etruria.

Found in the temple of Demeter, the objects were likely hidden there in advance of the Romans in 281 BC. Graviscae was destroyed during that campaign, and in 181 BC the Romans founded a colony on the same site. Also found in the sanctuary was a bronze incense burner (thymiaterion) and an ivory pyxis (round container) with a carved Siren. The bronze statues of female divinities are rare; we have perhaps a dozen or so other examples.