"Un palinsesto di fango: il potenziale della ricerca stratigrafica nella vasca sacra del Bagno Grande di San Casciano dei Bagni (SI)"

Thispaper presents a preliminary account on the complexity of the stratigraphic deposit discovered within the sacred pool located at the core of the Etruscan and Roman sanctuary of Bagno Grande in San Casciano dei Bagni (province of Siena). Excavations undertaken in 2021 and 2022 revealed a continuous sacred use of this pool at least from the 2nd century BCE to the late 4th/early 5th century CE. Despite the fact that over 25 liters of hot water (42 degrees Celsius) coming from the main spring of Bagno Grande still enter every second inside the pool during the excavation and that the stratification has been partially altered by the ritual closure of the shrine, it has been possible to observe the sequence of ritual depositions throughout the centuries. Beyond the importance of the bronze statues and other offerings, studies undertaken on the context as well as on the variety of other offerings (such as fruits and branches of trees) will illuminate the complexity of the religious universe surrounding the sacred pool.