Ricerc@Sapienza

Between 2006 and 2009 the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Abruzzo carried out a series
of new archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Alba Fucens. Research also extended to
the sanctuary of Hercules, and a great many small votive bronzes were found in the area. More than
60 items were recovered between complete and fragmentary examples,. This group of items comprised
about 50 representations of Hercules, 2 female/male offerors, 7 clubs, 1 bovine and a few other
fragments. According to the published information, the votive bronzes had been deposited in an area
carefully organised when the sanctuary underwent reorganisation in the first half of the 1st century
BC. This paper examines the votive bronzes found in the Sanctuary of Hercules at Alba Fucens with
two main aims: classification with an ‘artisanal’-oriented approach and an attempt to analyse these
types of items adopting an economic perspective.