A recent archaeological discovery in the ancient city of Paestum, a Greek colony founded in 600 B.C. in what is now the southern Italian region of Campania, could change history, a statement said today.
The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, indicated that “the discovery of hundreds of ex-votos, statues and altars in the small temple of Paestum confirms the extraordinary value of this site and its great potential, on which we are working.”
In times of Magna Graecia
For her part, the director of that archaeological site, Tiziana D’Angelo, expressed in statements published by the newspaper Il Messaggero, that the objects found in recent excavations could “change the known history of ancient Poseidonia”, as that city was known in times of Magna Graecia.
Among the pieces found are seven that represent bull heads, a fluted stone altar to collect the sacrificial liquids, as well as hundreds of offerings, some with images of the god Eros riding on a dolphin, probably referring to the mythical Poseidon, deity that gave its name to this town.
Paestum, located to the southeast in the province of Salerno, 92 kilometers south of Naples, adopted that name after its occupation by the Romans in the year 273 BC, and in 1998 its archaeological site was declared a World Heritage Site by the Organization of the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture (Unesco).
The sanctuary where this latest find was made was discovered in 2019, along the walls of the ancient city, but excavations were postponed until recent months due to restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the source indicates. .
From the time when the sanctuary was abandoned
This is the first group of artifacts identified after the resumption of work by a group of archaeologists headed by the expert Francesco Mele and they date “from the time when the sanctuary, for reasons still to be clarified, was abandoned, between the end of the 2nd century and beginning of the first century B.C.E,” D’Angelo said.
