IS THE HEAD FOUND IN THE ROMAN FORUM FROM A STATUE OF ANTINOUS-DIONYSUS?

A white marble head unearthed during excavations at the Roman Forum on 24 May is believed to represent a male deity, most likely Dionysus, according to Rome archaeologists.

But could it possibly be Antinous in the guise of Dionysus?

Initially it was thought that the head ... with its feminine features and thick, wavy hairstyle ... represented a female goddess.

However, closer inspection showed it to have a band around its head decorated with a "typically Dionysian flower, the corymb, and ivy."

So, it is now believed to be Dionysus, explained the director of Rome's archaeological museums Claudio Parisi Presicce.

The wavy hair style is not like the curly hair that most Antinous statues display. 

However, the famous Mondragone Antinous/Dionysus at the Louvre in Paris has hair not dissimilar to the newly found head.

The slightly larger-than-life head has been dated to the imperial age, which corresponds from the 1st Century BC to the 5th Century AD, and is described as being in an "excellent state of preservation."

"The hollow eyes, which were probably filled with glass or precious stones, date it to the first centuries of the empire", Parisi Presicce told Italian news agency ANSA.

The Mondragone Antinous-Dionysus, which is a fragment from a colossal statue of Antinous, also has hollow eyes which once had inlaid gemstone eyes.

Dug up on Via Alessandrina, the head was embedded in a late-Medieval wall. Experts are convinced it was reused as building material, as often happened in the Middle Ages.