L’ECONOMIA DEL SACRO E LE SORGENTI TERMALI DI CAMPO MURI (RAPOLANO TERME, SI): NUOVE INDAGINI SUL DEPOSITO VOTIVO DI BUCA DELLE FATE

Abstract

Ada Salvi – Jacopo Tabolli

This short paper presents the preliminary results of an on-going study of the archaeological finds uncovered during the 2001-2006 excavations carried out at the votive site of the Buca delle Fate (the Fairy Hollow), within the Etruscan and Roman sanctuary of Campo Muri (Rapolano Terme, province of Siena, Italy). It provides a general overview of the site and focuses on the stratigraphical contexts of the deposit, which was located in close proximity to the ancient hot springs of the sanctuary. During the Hellenistic period, a large number of small bronze figurines were deposited in the Buca delle Fate, most likely thrown into the hot mud. Although the symbolic value of the figurines is testified by the different types recorded – from infants in swaddles to adult figures – the preliminary analysis on the weights of the small bronze offerings revealed a consistent reference to metric scale, similar what has been observed in a number of different pre-Roman votive deposits. This scaling of the small finds according to weight points to the economic value of the figurines that were offered, which was tied to (or rather prevailed over) their symbolic value. During the Roman period, the economic aspect of the metal offerings made to the sanctuary was substituted by an increased use of coins.