"Etruscan" statue is really medieval

"The statue depicts a she-wolf suckling Remus and his twin brother Romulus - who is said to have founded Rome.

Academics having been arguing about the origins of the statue - known as the Lupa Capitolina - since the 18th Century. Until recently it was widely acknowledged that the statue was an Etruscan work dating from the 5th Century BC.

The Roman statesman, Cicero, who lived in the first century BC, describes a statue of a she-wolf that was damaged by a lightning strike - the Lupa Capitolina has a damaged paw. However, in 2006, an Italian art historian and restorer, Anna Maria Carruba, argued that the statue had been cast in a single piece using a wax mould - a technique unknown in the ancient world. She suggested the damage to the Lupa Capitolina's paw was the result of a mistake in the moulding process.

In a front page article in the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, Rome's former top heritage official, Professor Adriano La Regina, said about 20 tests were carried out on the she-wolf at the University of Salerno. He said the results of the tests gave a very precise indication that the statue was manufactured in the 13th century.

The Lupa Capitolina is the emblem of the Serie A football club, Roma, and was the symbol used for the 1960 Rome olympics. (Image credit here).