24 wonderfully preserved bronze sculptures from the ancient Roman era were discovered in Tuscany by Italian researchers.
The sculptures were found in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop village in the province of Siena, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital Rome, beneath the filthy remnants of an ancient bathhouse.
It is thought that the statues, which feature Hygieia, Apollo, and other Greco-Roman deities, date back 2,300 years.
Some experts say that this discovery will change the course of history.
The majority of the statues, together with some 6,000 bronze, silver, and gold coins, date from the second century BC to the first century AD. They were discovered buried beneath the baths. The transition from Etruscan to Roman authority was marked by a time of "great alteration in ancient Tuscany," according to the Italian Ministry of Culture.
The dig's director, assistant professor Jacopo Tabolli from the University for Foreigners in Siena, hypothesized that the sculptures had been submerged in hot waters as part of some type of rite.
Before being shown at a new museum in San Casciano, the statues, which were saved by the water, will be transported to a repair facility in the adjacent city of Grosseto.
The Director General of the National Museums in Italy says: This discovery will be one of the most important bronze finds that have been discovered in the history of the ancient Mediterranean.