2,000-year-Old marble of God Dionysus discovered in Italy
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The white marble head unearthed during excavations at the Roman Forum is believed to represent a male deity, most likely Dionysus, according archaeologists.
Initially it was thought that the head – with its feminine features and thick, wavy hairstyle – represented a female goddess.
However, thanks to a band around its head decorated with a “typically Dionysian flower, the corymb, and ivy”, it is now believed to be Dionysus, explained the director of Rome’s archaeological museums Claudio Parisi Presicce.
The head has been dated to the imperial age, which corresponds from the 1st century BC to 5th century AD, and is described as being in an “excellent preseveration”“The hollow eyes, which were probably filled with glass or precious stones, date it to the first centuries of the empire”, Parisi Presicce told Italian news agency ANSA.
Dug up on Via Alessandrina, the head was embedded in a late-Mediaeval wall. Experts are convinced it was reused as building material.