The Block Discovered by UA Researchers Turns Out to Be a Roman Sculpture Over 2,000 Years Old

UA researchers initially mistook a block found in a field for a simple stone, but it turned out to be a fragment of a Roman sculpture dating back to the second half of the 1st century BC. The discovery was made at the Los Cucos site, located in the municipality of Bogarra (Albacete), with participation from researchers at the University of Granada (UGR).

The find occurred during the second excavation campaign at this site, situated in the Haches valley. It was led by UA Archaeology professor Jesús Moratalla, co-directed by predoctoral researcher Arturo García López, a UA graduate currently pursuing a master's at UGR, and Andrés Adroher, a professor of Archaeology at UGR.

Jesús Moratalla suggests that it is likely the work of a local sculptor, dating to the second half of the 1st century BC or the first half of the following century. It bears resemblance to well-known effigies at the Cerro de los Santos, a nearby example.

Regarding its function, Moratalla explains that it has been ruled out that the piece was originally in an urban or funerary setting, as seen in some Roman Hispania archaeological landmarks, opting instead for its sacred character.

According to initial investigations, it could identify a nearby location to the find that held symbolic value during full Romanization, possibly linked to the emergence of a spring, abundant in the area and adjacent to a path that has crossed the Haches basin since ancient times.

The UA researcher specifies that the piece represents a standing male statue dressed in a cloak, preserved from the neck to the thighs. It is carved from a soft, porous whitish limestone with reddish veins, showing some chipping on its lower right part, and the upper left is clearly eroded.

Among its technical characteristics, Moratalla notes that the modeling alternates between low and medium relief, defining a figure dressed in a tunic with a straight V-shaped neckline, visible at the center of the chest, over which a cloak or toga is draped, following the formula of the toga praetexta or pallium.

Thus, it describes that the garment completely envelops the figure, falling over its right shoulder and creating a sinus, or neckline, with a circular tendency. Below this, the best details of the garment are visible, with a series of curved and straight folds that create consciously sought effects of light and shadow.