Forty years after the celebrated Riace Bronzes were discovered, a new group of artifacts have been found only 50km south of the site of the earlier discovery.
Three divers were investigating the area in the Calabrian Sea in southern Italy when they saw a gilded bronze sculpture of a lion on top of a 15cm square panel. They also saw what they at first thought was a set of armor made of bronze but what is now thought to be a statue. The statue is still stuck between rocks on the sea’s floor, about 300 meters from where the lion was discovered.
It is thought that the artifacts are of either Phoenician or Greek origin, and were perhaps sunk along with a ship, the remains of which were also found close by. The divers also said that they found parts of colored vases spread out over the seafloor, which also most likely went down with ship.
It is a lucky twist of fate that this is the same area where the famed Riace Bronzes were found in 1972. Unfortunately the bronzes have not been on for public view since 2009 as the government is waiting until the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Reggion Calabria completes its extensive renovation project. When the museum does open, hopefully in December of this year, there will be several new items to be displayed.