Hot muddy waters hid these bronze statues for almost 2,000 years, experts in Italy say

Archaeologists in a country that already boasts the Colosseum, the Valley of the Temples, and the volcanically-preserved ruins of Pompeii announced a new discovery.

Italy's Ministry of Culture said in a news release that the ruins of a sanctuary and thermal hot spring in Tuscany have been excavated. The waters were sacred to the Romans and the Etruscans.

There was a large amount of artifacts in the muddy waters.

The ministry said that more than 20 bronze statues and 5,000 gold, silver and bronze coins were found in the hot spring. The statues are coming back from the mud. The statues were mostly intact despite showing some weathering.

There were statues that were standing. A video from the ministry shows that others were busts. Video shows some of the inscriptions on the statues.

The statues were given to the hot spring as part of a religious vow. Apollo, god of the sun, was one of the ancient Greco-Romans' deities.

Tabolli explained that the hot spring offerings were a sort of exchange.

He said that you give to the water because you hope the water will give you something.

Most statues are from the second century B.C. and the first century A.D., which means they were in the hot springs for about 2,000 years. The Italian ministry said that this was a time of great transformation in ancient Tuscany when the Etruscans were being absorbed into the Roman empire.

Tabolli thinks the bronze statues will change history. Archaeologists have found mostly terracotta statues from the ancient era.

In the province of Siena and the larger region of Tuscany, the Bagno Grande is located.

The Ministry of Culture said that the recovery of the statues involved architects and geologists, experts in ancient inscriptions and ancient plants, as well as coin and currency experts.

A museum dedicated to the bronzes will be created in Italy, according to the Director General of Museums.

The news release from Italy's Ministry of Culture was translated into a language that was easy to understand. The ministry's video was translated.

The ancient Roman villa was found in the UK.

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The ancient Roman temple was found under a church.