{"id":839046,"date":"2025-04-04T16:13:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T21:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/04\/archaeologists-unearth-2000-year-old-mask-mold-believed-to-depict-medusa\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T16:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T21:13:24","slug":"archaeologists-unearth-2000-year-old-mask-mold-believed-to-depict-medusa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/04\/archaeologists-unearth-2000-year-old-mask-mold-believed-to-depict-medusa\/","title":{"rendered":"Archaeologists unearth 2,000-year-old mask mold believed to depict Medusa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Archaeologists in Sicily, Italy, have discovered a mask mold believed to depict Medusa.<\/p>\n

The mask mold was found at Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park (VTAP), the park announced.<\/p>\n

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER CENTURIES-OLD TOILETS, ARTIFACTS BENEATH FUTURE HIGHWAY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The discovery occurred in the excavation of house 18, a building from the late Republican age which, in its last phase of use, around the beginning of the 1st century BC,” said VTAP’s press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Archaeologists have unveiled a mask mold believed to depict Medusa in Sicily, Italy, at Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park.<\/span> (Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park\u00a0)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Archaeologists believe the house was “probably transformed into an artisan workshop dedicated to the production of masks.”<\/p>\n

The mold shows a stern-faced female with tresses of curly hair<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com\/lifestyle<\/u><\/strong><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Greek myth Medusa has a “fierce and grotesque or feminine and composed” face with “hair made of snakes,” according to The Met\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

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Medusa represents “a dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil.”<\/span> (iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“The most common interpretation of Medusa suggests she is an apotropaic symbol used to protect from and ward off the negative, much like the modern evil eye,” the site adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Medusa represents “a dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil.”<\/p>\n

The mold was found during a research program<\/a> called “Finziade Project.”<\/p>\n

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Finziade was an ancient Greek city<\/a> in Sicily that was founded in 282 BCE, according to Archeology News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park, an archaeological site in Sicily, Italy, is open to visitors during the weekdays, with tickets starting at about $18.<\/span> (iStock, Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“This discovery contributes to shedding light on the productive activities and symbolic culture of the ancient Finziade, highlighting the role that craftsmanship played in Sicily<\/a> during the Roman period,” added the release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The park is open to visitors<\/a> during the weekdays, with tickets starting at around $18.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Lyndia Buresh
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archaeologists in Sicily, Italy, have discovered a mask mold believed to depict Medusa. The mask mold was found at Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park (VTAP), the park announced. ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER CENTURIES-OLD TOILETS, ARTIFACTS BENEATH FUTURE HIGHWAY “The discovery occurred in the excavation of house 18, a building from the late Republican age which, in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":839047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4048,95163],"tags":[10283,16468],"class_list":{"0":"post-839046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-archaeologists","8":"category-unearth","9":"tag-archaeologists","10":"tag-unearth"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=839046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}