In the ancient city of Kainua near Bologna, archaeologists have made an extraordinary discovery: in a sacred area dedicated to the goddess Uni, they found a well that served not merely as a water source, but as a center for complex rituals linking daily life with religion. At the bottom of the shaft lay two bronze figurines of women—crafted with masterly finesse, cast in bronze, and remarkably well-preserved. Beside them lay a rare bronze plate, its shape and ornamentation associated with cult practices. For two and a half millennia, the water protected the metal, preserving its original luster—as if time had stood still there.
The excavations were led by Elisabetta Govi, a professor of Etruscology at the University of Bologna, where systematic research of Kainua has been conducted since 1988. The discovery occurred during the 39 field campaign. According to Govi, the artifacts point to a solemn ceremony for the opening of the well, timed to coincide with the founding of the city—likely between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth century BC.
The Etruscans, like many ancient peoples, attached great importance to symbolic acts marking the transition from primitive chaos to an ordered city. The bronze figurines personified the goddess Uni—the supreme divine consort in the Etruscan pantheon, the counterpart of the Greek Hera or the Roman Juno—and were intended to ensure her patronage of the new settlement.
However, the history of the well did not end with its opening. In the upper layers, scientists discovered human remains—the skeletons of an adult man and woman. These burials became part of a ritual with the opposite meaning: when the well had fulfilled its role in the life of the city, it was 'sealed' with bodies, as if closing a door between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Similar practices are found in various cultures and testify to the fact that wells were revered as portals to subterranean powers—places of encounter with the divine.
Kainua, also known by the name Martaboto, was one of the key Etruscan centers in the Reno River valley. The city emerged at the end of the sixth century BC and developed, undergoing reorganization between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth century. It existed until the fourth century BC, when Celtic migrations led to its final abandonment by its inhabitants.
This settlement still makes Kainua unique—the untouched urban layout has allowed scientists to fully reconstruct ancient life: houses, roads, workshops, temples, the water supply system, necropolises, and the acropolis. The find in the well completes the picture of the everyday and sacred life of the Etruscans, whose worldview remains largely a mystery due to the lack of extensive written sources.
The bronze plate attracts special attention: no parallels have yet been found. Its shape and ornamentation, according to preliminary data, are specifically linked to cult practices and the founding of new cities. The figurines, meanwhile, are crafted with high precision, demonstrating advanced craftsmanship and emphasizing the sanctity of the ritual performed. Research continues: scientists hope to refine the dating through radiocarbon analysis and DNA studies of the remains, which will allow for a better understanding of the two individuals found as skeletons—who these people were, living in different eras of the city's life, and why their bodies ended up in the sacred well.
