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A&S undergrad unearths miniature Hercules statue in Italy
Alexander Cooper-Bohler ’25 unearthed a miniature Hercules statue in Montaione, Italy at a Roman mansio (“rest house”) and bathhouse complex during the Montaione Excavation 2024 season. Cooper-Bohler is an archaeology major with a minor in East Asian studies.
Alexander Cooper-Bohler '25 and Rutger Loof, M.A. Student, University of Amsterdam, with the freshly unearthed Hercules statue
“The highlight of the dig for me was finding a statue of Hercules in an area I had been instructed to pick-axe through,” Cooper-Bohler said. “Thankfully, I noticed the strange shape of the statue’s abdomen before my pick could cleave it in half."
Cooper-Bohler received support from the Cornell Institute for Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS) in the College of Arts and Sciences to participate in the excavation.
The statue, dating to the 4th c. CE, stands 50 cm tall. It depicts a nude Hercules leaning on his club to his right, with the Nemean lion’s skin the hero had killed draped over his left arm. A bull’s head lies at the statue’s feet, representing the hero’s seventh labor: the capture of the Cretan bull.
Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.
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