Archaeologists have found a rare 2.5 thousand-year-old Greek statue.

In the ancient Etruscan city of Vulci, which is now a major archaeological park in the Lazio region of Italy, an unusually well-preserved head of a marble statue of Cora, created more than 2.5 thousand years ago, has been discovered. This was reported on December 9 in Arkeonews magazine.

Archaeologists from the universities of Freiburg and Mainz have discovered a find that could change perceptions of cultural ties in the ancient Mediterranean. During excavations on the territory of Vulci, they discovered the head of the Greek statue of Kora, the rarest example of monumental Greek sculpture outside Greece.

The statue was found in the ruins of a large temple of the Archaic period, revealed only in 2020. It has been preserved surprisingly well: the marble surface has preserved not only fine details, but also traces of ancient paints — an extremely rare phenomenon for such antiquity. This will allow researchers to restore the original appearance of the Crust and refine the data on ancient polychromy.

According to the project leaders, Dr. Mariakiara Franceschini and Dr. Paul Pasieki, the find confirms that the contacts between the Greeks and the Etruscans were much more dense than previously thought. Franceschini noted that for a long time, Greek ceramics served as the basis for ideas about cultural exchange, but this statue speaks to a much deeper artistic and religious relationship. Pasieka added that stylistically, the object was almost certainly made in an Athenian workshop and delivered to Etruria as a prestigious import.

Experts have determined that Cora's head dates back to the early 5th century BC. Its characteristic features — hairstyle, soft facial modeling and elegant tiara — fully correspond to the works of Athenian sculptors of that time. This reinforces the theory that the Etruscan elites actively borrowed Hellenic artistic traditions, and sometimes

In recent years, materials from the Bronze Age to late Antiquity have been discovered in Vulci, including burials from the Late Roman period. Future research will rely on advanced techniques ranging from remote sensing to digital reconstruction of urban structures.

On December 4, Arkeonews magazine reported the discovery of silver coins from the era of the First Crusade in Northern Croatia. The value was found at the Batin site in the Baranya region. A total of 56 French coins were discovered, which date back to the XI–XIII centuries.

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