Has the missingeye of the Riace bronzes been discovered, that is, the eye that Bronze B lacks? At a press conference held in Riace on Saturday morning at the Federica Hotel, writer Giuseppe Braghò, underwater archaeologist Francesco Laratta, archaeologist Antonio Arcudi, and Mayor Antonio Trifoli presented an artifact found in the sea in front of Riace: the suggestion is that this object may be just the missing eye. The find has a spherical shape, with a darker area in the center that might resemble an iris, and is about a centimeter in diameter, but the state of the find does not allow one to make any pronouncements about it.
The artifact was found in the Agranci-Porto Forticchio locality, about 60 meters, the speakers noted, from the spot where the bronzes were found in 1972. Along with the alleged eye, other artifacts were also found. The discovery that took place in the waters of the Ionian Sea was made last August, and all the material was handed over to the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, 24 hours after it was found. Now, the speakers again let them know, the finds are being examined by the relevant superintendency, which will have to make a decision on the objects. An eyeball? A stud? We shall see: despite the presentation (the Riace Municipality communiqué published to announce the press conference invited participation “in light of recent and relevant fortuitous discoveries in the stretch of sea in the Agranci-Porto Forticchio locality - located in Riace Marina - that bring new, important information related to the archaeological context of origin of the two famous statues from the 5th century B.C.”), for now all hypotheses are open.
Pictured: the Bronze B.
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The missing eye of the Riace bronzes discovered? Not yet known |
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