San Casciano bronzes win archaeology's top international prize. It's a first for Italy

The bronzes of San Casciano dei Bagni, the twenty-four Etruscan and Roman statues dating from between the second century B.C. and the first century A.D, which have been protected for 2,300 years from the mud and boiling water of the votive shrine’s sacred pools along with coins, votive offerings and Latin and Etruscan inscriptions, and which were rediscovered in 2022, win the ninth edition of theInternational Archaeological Discovery Award “Khaled al-Asaad,” an award named after the Palmyra archaeologist who paid with his life for defending cultural heritage. This is the first time the award has been given to an Italian discovery.

The award is promoted by the Mediterranean Archaeological Tourism Exchange and Archeo, which since 2015 have wanted to pay tribute to archaeological discoveries with an annual award. The International Archaeological Discovery Award “Khaled al-Asaad” is the only award worldwide dedicated to the world ofarchaeology and in particular to its protagonists, the archaeologists, who with dedication, expertise and scientific research face their daily task as scholars and professionals.

The Award will be presented to the mayor of San Casciano dei Bagni Agnese Carletti representing the titular municipal administration of the area and to Jacopo Tabolli, scientific manager of the excavation, on Friday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Next, former Cafasso Tobacconist’s shop, on the occasion of the XXV Mediterranean Archaeological Tourism Exchange.

The Special Award for the discovery received the most acclaim on the BMTA Facebook page is given to the discovery in Guatemala of traces of the oldest Mayan calendar.

The 2023 edition of the Exchange will take place in Paestum at Next (a site of industrial archaeology “symbol of the Sele Plain,” as Gillo Dorfles called it), the archaeological area and National Museum, and the Basilica from Thursday, Nov. 2 to Sunday, Nov. 5.

The bronzes of San Casciano dei Bagni was among the five archaeological discoveries of 2022 finalists for the ninth edition along with the pyramid of Queen Neith with 300 coffins and 100 mummies in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara in Giza; traces of the oldest Mayan calendar in Guatemala; a Bronze Age city in Iraq; and a large underground city dating back 2,000 years in Turkey.

San Casciano bronzes win archaeology's top international prize. It's a first for Italy

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