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An ancient votive well has been discovered at the Etruscan city of Kainua in northern Italy.
Kainua, located on the outskirts of modern-day Bologna, was founded in the late 6th century BC. Situated next to the Reno river, along thriving trade routes, the city was one of the most important Etruscan settlements in the area until its abandonment at the end of the 4th century BC. The site was rediscovered in the 19th century and, since 1988, has been the subject of regular excavations by the University of Bologna. These investigations have uncovered streets, houses, workshops, temples, and other structures laid out on an organised city plan influenced by Greek urban design but adapted to Etruscan needs. However, the most recent revelation is a well, discovered in the sacred district of the city, where researchers have previously identified two monumental temples dedicated to the supreme couple of the Etruscan pantheon: Tinia (who corresponded to the Greco-Roman Zeus/ Jupiter) and his consort Uni (equivalent to Hera/Juno). At the bottom of this well was a collection of well-preserved bronze objects, believed to be connected to religious activity.
The assemblage features two bronze female statuettes, depicted with richly decorated dresses, who may represent high-status individuals or goddesses. They were found in fragmentary condition, probably broken intentionally as part of a ritual. Similar objects are known from other excavations – figurines of this type were sometimes left by young women as offerings for Uni – but this is the first time they have been found in a well. They were accompanied by a unique bronze bowl: its shape is common in Etruscan ceramics, but this is only known example made of bronze – a valuable material at the time, and one with symbolic significance as well. All of the objects were in remarkable condition, their metallic lustre preserved by the underwater environment. They have been dated to the late 6th-early 5th century BC, when the city was being founded, and are thought perhaps to have been part of a foundation rite for the well.
Also found in the well were human remains belonging to two adults. It is hypothesised that they were connected to the later ritual act of closing the well at the end of the structure’s use. Initial investigations found no evidence of human sacrifice, but it is hoped that further research will tell us more about their identities and the chronology of the discoveries.
It was not uncommon in the Etruscan world for the construction of a well to be accompanied by a ceremony of some sort, but the discoveries at Kainua indicate that this feature had a greater symbolic significance. Professor Elisabetta Govi, director of the excavations, commented, ‘Certainly, what was found in the well makes us think that this is a ritual well… It had a special function, not just for the collection of water, but evidently for the collection of water in relation to ceremonies, rites, to religious life that took place nearby in the sanctuary of the goddess Uni.’
The bronze objects are currently undergoing conservation and analysis, after which it is expected that they will be acquired by the National Etruscan Museum in Marzabotto.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Images: Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Marzabotto
