Lake of the Idols

Lake of the Idols (Italian: Lago degli Idoli) is a lake located in Arezzo Province, Tuscany, Italy. It is located 1,380 metres (4,530 ft) above sea level atop Monte Falterona, about 600 metres from the source of the river Arno.[1] Situated near an ancient road linking Etruria (including Tuscany and Umbria) with the Adriatic port cities of Romagna,[2] it is known for one of the largest archaeological finds of the Etruscan civilization; over 600 bronze statuettes of Etruscan and Roman origin, along with thousands of other figurines from Cisalpine Gaul and Umbria, were discovered within the lake.[3]

Lake of the Idols
Lake of the Idols following restoration
Lake of the Idols is located in Italy
Lake of the Idols
Lake of the Idols
Location in Italy
LocationArezzo, Tuscany, Italy
Coordinates43°51′50″N 11°41′30″E
Native nameLago degli Idoli (Italian)
Basin countriesItaly
Surface elevation1,380 m (4,530 ft)

Name

The lake was originally known as Lago della Ciliegeta (eng. Cherry Grove Lake), named for the cherry groves that grew around the lake.[4] The name Lago degli Idoli (eng. Lake of the Idols) was applied after 1838 and refers to the Etruscan bronze statuettes found in the lake (see History). Another name for the lake is Buca del Tesoro (eng. Treasure Hole).[5]

History

According to Alfredo Bresciani, the lake formed approximately 6,000 years ago (4th millennia BCE), based on radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology testing done on the lake.[6]

The lake was used in ancient times by the Etruscans. They viewed it as a "holy spring of the river-gods" because of the healing qualities of the water, which contains a high concentration of tannin.[7] The Etruscans would throw bronze statuettes into the lake as a form of votive offering. These statuettes depicted typically people or animals.[8] Some artifacts in the lake depicted body parts, such as heads, arms and legs,[9] suggesting the healing power of the lake. Other artifacts found at the lake were coins (including Etruscan aes rude), and fragments of arrow bits and pottery.[10] It is believed that the lake was popular among soldiers based on the number of arrow fragments, and more importantly, the number of statuettes found depicting Hercle, the Etruscan version of Greek divine hero, Heracles.[11] Artifacts found at the lake are dated between mid-6th to late-4th centuries BCE.[12]

One of these statuettes was discovered by a local shepherdess in May 1838.[13] The statuette was probably of Hercle, now kept in the British Museum.[14][15] News of the find spread quickly, and a team of local amateur archaeologists from nearby Stia[16] began excavating the site in June 1838.[13] The lake was subsequently dried following several days of fruitful excavations.[17] Over 600 statuettes and thousands of other artifacts were discovered between 1838–1839.[13] Many of these artifacts at the time were presented to the Archaeological Institute of Rome in 1842, but without any buyers. Ultimately they were sold to a private collector, who resold them to a number of museums, notably among them the British Museum,[18] the Hermitage Museum and the Louvre.[19] Over time, treasure seekers looted the lake, stripping it of whatever artifacts remained within.[20]

Official excavations were sparse following the 1838–1839 excavations. The next excavation, in 1972, led to the discovery of three artifacts within the lake.[21] Previously, in 1971, five artifacts in the form of bronze statuettes were accidentally recovered from the site.[22]

The last significant excavation of the lake was done in 2003. Eight trenches were dug into the lake center.[23] Within the trenches, among the artifacts found were bronze statuettes, fragments of bronze weaponry, "two pieces of gold foil shaped into bull-headed protomes" and "two polychrome beads".[24] "In addition to the objects named above, other finds include nails, spear points, ceramics (including an intact bucchero grigio miniature cup), arrows and aes rude." These artifacts were mostly dated between the 6th–5th centuries BCE.[25]

Following the 2003 excavations, local authorities began rehabilitating the lake. In 2007, the lake was refilled using water from a nearby spring.[26] Vegetation surrounding the lake was replanted to mimic its original form during the Etruscan period, using pollen samples recovered from the surrounding layers of earth.[27]

Hydrology

The lake is widely perceived to be a pond, due to lack of inflow from any bodies of water, i.e. rivers and streams. Research done at the University of Florence – Faculty of Engineering suggests that there exists an underground spring that provides a continuous stream of water to the lake.[28] It appears that the lake is sinkhole-like, sitting atop layers of sandstone.[29]

Cultural impact

The lake and its history was heavily incorporated into the plot of the 2013 film Neverlake.[30][31]

References
  1. InEtruria.it: "The Lake of Idols is about 1380 metres above sea level on the southern slope of Monte Falterona (1654 metres) near to the sources of the Arno, approximately 600 metres more to the north-west (1358 metres)."
  2. Ferrini n.d.a: "Passava da questo zona una importante viabilità che collegava l'Etruria toscana e umbra alle zone dell'attuale Romagna e relativi porti adriatici (viabilità utilizzata anche in epoca romana e per tutto il medioevo."
  3. Caselli 2004, pp. 78–79: "Well in excess of 600 Etruscan and Roman bronze figurines, up to 60 cm in height, were found buried in the mud, together with thousands of other artifacts, coming from a wide area of Etruria, Cisalpine Gaul, and Umbria."
  4. Ferrini n.d.b: "Eccoci al Lago degli Idoli, fino al 1838 Lago della Ciliegeta per le molte piante di ciliegio che qui erano presenti."
  5. Caselli 2004, p. 78: "Proceeding due south for about 1 km, a little above our path, we should be able to find the little, now refilled, basin of the famous Lago degli Idoli (Lake of the Idols), once known as Buca del Tesoro (the Treasure Hole) or Lago delle Ciliegeta (the Cherry Grove Lake)."
  6. Meyers 2008: "The volume includes an interesting archaeological discussion by Alfredo Bresciani on Carbon-14 dating and dendochronology, which have been used to determine that the lake formed naturally c. 6000 years ago"
  7. Caselli 2004, p. 79: "People gathered at the pond which they regarded as the holy spring of the river-gods embracing the country of Etruria. The waters of the pond, containing a high quantity of tannin, were also a strong disinfectant [...]"
  8. Salsini: For centuries, people in the area believed that if an earthquake awakened the god, they would all be drowned. The Etruscans, in fact, threw thousands of small bronze statues, depicting people and animals, into a lake, called Lake of the Idols, to keep the god happy.
  9. Marie-Bénédicte: "[...] nearly 2,000 fragments of weapons and of depictions of the human body (heads, trunks, arms, legs, etc.); and a few coins."
  10. Ferrini n.d.a: "Tra il 1838 e 39 furono portati alla luce migliaia di reperti tra cui oltre seicento bronzetti, un migliaio di Aes Rude (la prima monetazione etrusca), circa 2000 punte da freccia e molti frammenti di ceramica."
  11. InEtruria.it: "This is highlighted by the existence in the votive offering of Hercle of Greek manufacture. It can be hypothesized that this offering was mainly associated with "soldiers" both on account of the statuette of Hercle (god connected to heroism and also to war) and that of the Warrior, not to mention the huge quantity of arrows."
  12. Pancani & Tocchi 2012, p. 2: "The finds dated from the middle of the VI and the late IV century BC [...]"
  13. Pancani & Tocchi 2012, p. 2: "The Lake of Idols was discovered by chance in May 1838, the accidental discovery of a bronze statue of Heracles was followed by more in-depth investigations in the area and the excavations, which began in June of the same year, brought to light more than 600 figurines and thousands of other artifacts."
  14. Perhaps this one
  15. Ferrini n.d.a: "Casualmente in quell'anno una mandriana rinvenne sulla sponda del lago una statuetta bronzea raffigurante Eracle (oggi conservata nel British Museum di Londra)."
  16. InEtruria.it: "In Stia, a company was formed by a group of local amateurs, who started a dig (1838-‘39).
  17. InEtruria.it: "A few days later, due to the formidable amount of excavated material, it was decided to dry the lake."
  18. 8 pieces in the British Museum
  19. Caselli 2004, p. 79: "In 1842, secretary E. Braun, presented the finds to scholars in the hall of the Archaeological Institute of Rome. Since no public authority considered buying any of the finds, they were at once sold to a private buyer who, in his turn, sold them to various museums including the Museums of Berlin, the British Museum, the Louvre, the Boston Museum and the Hermitage."
  20. Caselli 2004, p. 79: "The extensive excavations, carried out from the summer of 2003 on-wards, demonstrated that the basin had been all but cleared of every possible interesting relic by generations of treasure hunters."
  21. Meyers 2008, pp. 175–176: "In 1972 three new bronze pieces were found at the same site, inspiring further excavation in the area.
  22. InEtruria.it: "In 1971, five statuettes were found by chance."
  23. Meyers 2008, p. 176: "Following the history and catalog of earlier excavations at the site of the Lago degli Idoli, Fedeli provides a brief account of the 2003 campaign. Based on information from the earlier work on the site, eight trenches were opened in the center of the ancient basin.
  24. Meyers 2008, p. 176: "Several trenches yielded substantial deposits of archaeological finds—one in particular producing bronze votive statuettes, bronze heads, fragments of bronze weapons, two pieces of gold foil shaped into bull-headed protomes and two polychrome beads."
  25. Meyers 2008, p. 176: "Most of the finds are datable to sixth-fifth centuries B.C.[...]"
  26. Ferrini n.d.a: "Ultimati gli ultimi scavi, a fine 2007 la conca è stata riempita con l'acqua di una vicina sorgente."
  27. Caselli 2004, p. 78: "The local authority and the Park authority have now refilled the anciend[sic] lake bed and are now replanting the origi-nal vegetation of the Etruscan period, as has been extrapolated by studying the pollen in the va-rious excavation layers."
  28. InEtruria.it: "As to the widely debated origin of the lake, a hypothesis was recently formulated by a team of researchers and scholars of the Engineering Faculty of Florence University. Research, analyses and hydrogeological studies revealed that the lake originated from an underground spring capable of keeping up a constant flow of water.
  29. InEtruria.it: "From research conducted, it turns out that the rocks in which the lake formed consist of layers of sandstone belonging to a "pseudo-doline"."
  30. Keats-Shelley House 2013: "Paoletti chose a place full of charm and mystery, ‘The Lake of the Idols’, a Tuscan location renowned for many discoveries of ancient Etruscan artifacts in its depths."
  31. Hough 2004: "The setting is the historic "Lake of the Idols," which was beheld by ancient Etruscans as a place of healing and mysticism. It was believed that one could escape sickness by tossing objects into the center of the waters, and for thousands of years, artifacts have been discovered at the lake."

Sources
  • Caselli, Giovanni (2004), The Casentino History Anthropology Environment, Le Balze, ISBN 88-7539-035-5, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Salsini, Paul, A Tuscan Trilogy: The Flood of Florence, November 4, 1966, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Lago degli Idoli, InEtruria.it, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Pancani, Giovanni; Tocchi, Marco (November 2012), The archaeological area of Pieve a Socana (Tuscany - Italy) (PDF), Vienna: Museen der Stadt Wien – Stadtarchäologie, ISBN 978-3-200-03281-1, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Marie-Bénédicte, Astier, Lago degli Idoli, Louvre Museum, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Ferrini, Alessandro (n.d.b), Arrivo al Lago degli Idoli [Arriving at the Lake of the Idols] (in Italian), Il bel Casentino, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Ferrini, Alessandro (n.d.a), Il lago sacro [The Sacred Lake] (in Italian), Il bel Casentino, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Meyers, Gretchen E. (1 January 2008), "Review of M. Ducci, ed., Santuari Etruschi in Casentino", Etruscan Studies: Journal of the Etruscan Foundation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 11: 175–177, ISBN 978-0-9819692-1-3, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Neverlake, a new psychological thriller inspired by Shelley's poetry, Keats-Shelley House, 20 December 2013, retrieved 12 June 2015
  • Hough, Quinn Vincent (13 May 2004), Movie Review: Neverlake (2013), Critical Movie Critics, retrieved 12 June 2015
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