Archaeologists have recently unearthed a 2,000-year-old marble head of Emperor Augustus – the first Roman Emperor in the town of Isernia, Molise region, Italy.
Archaeologist Francesco Giancola made this remarkable discovery while a team of archaeologists was restoring a medieval wall that collapsed due to heavy rains in 2013.
The 2,000-year-old marble head of Emperor Augustus has just been unearthed. Photo: CNN “While we were digging behind the wall, I saw the soil change color,” said Giancola. So we continued to dig carefully and discovered a block of marble. I immediately recognized it as the head of Emperor Augustus due to the hair and the shape and cut of the eyes.” According to archaeologist Maria Diletta Colombo of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, the head of the statue is about 35cm high, possibly dating from 20 BC to 10 AD. This head may have been detached from the more than 2m tall statue, which is also made of Lunigiana marble. This statue most likely depicts the young Emperor Augustus Octavian. “This is a very important finding; However, archaeologists have not been able to determine why the head of Emperor Augustus is in that area. The head of this statue should have been placed in a temple or a certain area reserved for the Royal Family.” The town of Isernia, known as Aesernia in the ancient world, was the land of the Samnites, Italy. Later, the town became a Roman colony. In this land, scientists have discovered many archaeological remains, including medieval tombs and terracotta artifacts… Despite being heavily damaged in World War I 2, but this land has gradually revived strongly. Currently, the local government is promoting heritage promotion activities to attract tourists to visit. Augustus (63 BC – AD 14) was the first Emperor of ancient Rome. Augustus replaced the Roman republic with an effective monarchy. He laid a very important foundation on which to build a powerful Roman empire, stretching from Great Britain to Egypt.
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