(an antiquities collector and self-trained ceramic archaeologist) "provided the first technical evidence of their having been made in modern times." This was confirmed by Alfredo Fioravanti, who on January 5, 1961, entered the US consulate in Rome and signed a confession. The forgers had lacked the skills – and the very large kiln – required to make such large pieces. The fragments had been fired, "discovered" and sold, or re-assembled ("restored") then sold. As proof, Fioravanti presented the Old Warrior's missing thumb, which he had kept as a memento. On February 15, the Metropolitan Museum announced that the statues were forgeries. References External links Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gisela M.A. Richter, with a report on structure and technique by Charles F. Binns. Papers (Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)), no. 6, 1937. "The history of fraud – art". The Guardian. See also Craddock, Paul (2009). Scientific Investigation of Copies, Fakes and Forgeries. Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 197–199. 1961 crimes Archaeological forgeries Sculpture forgeries Terracotta Terracotta Terracotta Sculptures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art