The 'miraculous' discovery of the Capestrano warrior

It was 1934 when a farmer from Abruzzo, Michele Castagna, was plowing his vineyard. At one point he came across something unexpected: a statue buried under the ground. Using a dialect term he defined that figure 'mammocce', the puppet. In truth, today we know him as the Capestrano warrior. That fortuitous discovery has become one of the most important archaeological finds of the last century. The statue had several features that made it unique. It was intact, full-length. 2 meters high, sculpted in a single block, it represents a warrior in full armor. Furthermore, the most peculiar feature is the hat on his head, which has a wide brim. The sculpture dates back to the 6th century BC and there are very few statues from that period that have survived. According to the scholar Adriano La Regina, the warrior is King Nevio Pompuledio and the sculptor was called Aninis. This was deduced from the inscriptions on the artefact, which is now exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Chieti.