The temple of Diana Nemorensis was preceded by the sacred grove in which there stood a carved cult image. The temple was noted by Vitruvius as being archaic and "Etruscan" in its form.Vitruvius, 4.8.4. A. E. GordonGordon, The Cults of Aricia, 7f. has observed that "the comparatively late date of the excavated remains of the sanctuaryThe complicated histories of excavations at Nemi is traced in English in Mysteries of Diana: The Antiquities from Nemi in Nottingham Museums (Castle Museum, Nottingham, 1983). See also F. Coarelli, I santuari del Lazio in età repubblicana (Rome, 1987:165-85). does not preclude the dedication of the grove at the end of the sixth century." Andreas Alföldi has demonstrated that the cult image still stood as late as 43 BC, when it was reflected in coinage.Alföldi, "Diana Nemorensis", American Journal of Archaeology (1960:137-44) p 141.
