Marble Bust of Rome’s First Emperor Augustus Unearthed in Italy

전성훈 / 2021-05-06 18:39:14

▲ Marble statue presumed to be Augustus [from Isernian Cultural Heritage Authority Facebook. NOT FOR SALE]

ROME, May 6 (Yonhap) -- A marble head, believed to be the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus (BC63-14) has been found in a quiet town in central Italy, the Smithsonian magazine and other media reported on the 5th (local time).

According to them, the statue was discovered last week in Isernia, a small town with a population of 20,000 in central Molise, while construction workers were conducting renovations of an ancient Roman-era wall.

The marble sculpture, which only had the upper head of the neck, remained intact except for a slight fracture in the nose.

Archaeologists believe that the sculpture is a reflection of Emperor Augustus in light of his swallow tail-shaped hairstyle, bangs split into a "V" shape, and facial features.

▲ Marble statue presumed to be Augustus [from Isernian Cultural Heritage Authority Facebook. NOT FOR SALE]

Originally, it appears to be part of a bust, but the lower part of the neck has yet to be found.

Isernia, about 200 kilometers southwest of the capital Rome, was inhabited by the Samnites before Roman times and is said to have been occupied by the Roman army in 295 BC. Since then, the Roman army has made it a base that extends upward on the Italian Peninsula.

The Isernian authorities concluded that the unearthed statue belonged to the Emperor Augustus, and the findings gave significance as a proof that Isernia was a strategically important colonial city at the time.

Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, is regarded as the first emperor of the Roman Empire for 41 years from 27 BC, laying the foundation for a large empire that encompasses Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

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