Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,000-year-old clay figurine in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy.

Believed to depict an ancient goddess, the figurine was discovered at the Gran Carro archaeological site. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti Paesaggio Etruria Meridionale

Believed to depict an ancient goddess, the figurine was discovered at the Gran Carro archaeological site, a submerged Iron Age village dating back to the 10th or 9th century BCE. Remarkably, after millennia underwater, the figure still bears the fingerprints of its creator.

The discovery was made during an ongoing project under Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which aims to create an underwater path for visitors at the Gran Carro site. The site has been of archaeological interest since the 1960s and is believed to have been submerged due to seismic activity caused by the Vulsini volcano. The eastern shore of Lake Bolsena, where the village was located, likely sank during one of these events, leaving the village and its artifacts preserved beneath the water.

The clay figurine, approximately six inches in length, is crudely finished, suggesting it was a work in progress at the time it was submerged. Despite its rough appearance, the figurine’s significance lies in its role in the spiritual life of the Iron Age inhabitants of the region. Archaeologists believe the figurine was used in votive practices, where prayers or offerings were directed to it. The impression of a fabric pattern on the figurine suggests that it was originally clothed, possibly as part of a domestic ritual.

“This is an exceptional discovery, one of a kind,” said the archaeologists involved in the project, emphasizing the figurine’s importance in shedding light on the daily and spiritual lives of people from the early Iron Age, particularly in southern Etruria. Similar rituals have been documented in the region during later periods, indicating a long-standing tradition of such practices.

The Gran Carro site has yielded thousands of artifacts since the 1960s, including pieces of wood, pottery, jewelry, and household objects.

One of the most enigmatic features of the Gran Carro site is the Aiola, a large pile of submerged stones believed to have been constructed beside a geothermal spring. Recent research has shown that the stones of the Aiola cover an earthen mound, with artifacts from the Iron Age and later Roman coins found at the site. This suggests that the area continued to be inhabited until the late Roman Empire, with the Aiola possibly serving as a sacred site ᴀssociated with the thermal springs.

Geologists have determined that Lake Bolsena formed between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago during eruptions of the Vulsini volcano. Roman records indicate the volcano was active as recently as 104 BCE, and scientists believe that seismic activity caused the eastern shore of the lake to sink, submerging the village.

The ongoing exploration of the Gran Carro site is revealing more about the Iron Age civilization that once thrived there. The discovery of the clay figurine is just the latest in a series of finds that are helping to piece together the history of this ancient village. The site is now being developed as a unique underwater archaeological park.

Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti Paesaggio Etruria Meridionale