The roots of Italian bravery, dug up in Abruzzo

Year: 1934.  Region: Abruzzo, Italy.  You: A poor farmer plowing your field.  Discovery: One of the most archeologically significant finds in your country’s history.  

Amidst the Gran Sasso National Park in the Province of L’Aquila, a nearly 7-foot limestone statue known as The Warrior of Capestrano was unearthed and became the oldest archeological find in Abruzzo to date.  The statue depicts a man of strength, arms crossed over his chest holding a dagger, a small axe and a sword.  

His posture, dress and tools suggest only one thing: high military status. Completing the warrior’s wardrobe is the armor affixed to his chest and back: round breastplates protecting vital organs from enemy attack.

 His arms covered by a jacket, fully carved with images of people and perhaps ritual animals point to a high social standing as well.  Not withstanding its imposing nature, what is still so exciting about this discovery even today, is the fact that it cannot be traced back to either Greek or Etruscan roots, which make up the majority of archeological finds from this region.  Instead, the statue is believed to derive from a civilization that thrived in northeast Italy around the early 6th century BC called the Piceni.  

Findings from this Italic tribe, like the warrior’s headgear (a wide brimmed hat that strongly resembles a Mexican sombrero) believed to be a type of battle helmet, continue to challenge scholar’s previous beliefs about the origins of Pre-roman Italians.  Adding to the intrigue are two inscriptions on the warrior himself, only one of which has been deciphered.  

It reads ‘Me, a beautiful image made Aninis (the sculptor) for King Nevio Pompuledio’ making it one of the earliest examples in history of an artist marking his work.  This singular statue contains a wealth of clues, leading archeologists on an Indiana Jones like adventure for answers pertaining to our lesser-known ancestors.  

To see The Warrior in person, each brave soul must make the voyage to the National Archeological Museum in Chieti, Abruzzo.  Or, just roam the farmlands of Capestrano where along with tombs and other ritual objects excavated over the years, it is now believed by archeologists to be the site of an ancient necropolis belonging to the Warrior’s people, the Piceni.