Archaeologists working in the ancient Etruscan city of Vulci in central Italy have made a significant discovery that is set to change our understanding of cultural exchange in the Mediterranean over 2,500 years ago. The find is a marble head from a Greek statue, which depicts a young woman known as a kore, and is among the very rare examples of large-scale Greek sculpture found outside Greece, as well as among the most important archaeological discoveries in Etruria in recent decades.
Stylistic study indicates that the piece belongs to an Attic workshop and dates from the early 5th century BCE. Comparable examples are known from the Athenian Acropolis, making the Vulci kore a striking outlier geographically. The sculpture depicts a young woman with a detailed hairstyle and a very finely carved diadem, and shows traces of original paint, which offer rare evidence of ancient polychromy on marble sculpture.
The context of the find is very important. The temple near which the head was found is part of a group of Etrusco-Italic peripteral temples that were inspired by Greek architecture. Also included in this group is the well-known Tempio Grande, which together with the other temples formed a monumental sacred precinct that dominated the city’s urban landscape. The presence of a high-quality Greek sculpture in this setting indicates that Vulci was not just importing Greek products such as painted pottery, but was also engaging with Greek artists, workshops, or elite artistic commissions.
Researchers believe that the kore’s arrival in Vulci may have been connected with the new temple’s construction or decoration, reflecting a period of intense cultural interaction between Greek and Etruscan societies. At that time, significant economic growth and artistic innovation also occurred across the Mediterranean, and the discovery provides concrete archaeological evidence that these connections extended into monumental sculpture.
The marble head is currently in the process of restoration and analysis at the Central Institute for Restoration in Rome, where specialists are studying its materials, pigments, and manufacturing techniques.
Excavations at Vulci will continue in the coming years, and researchers aim to reconstruct the long-term development of the city from the Late Bronze Age through the Roman period and beyond.
More information: Ministero della Cultura / Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz