Important finds in the archaeological park of Paestum in Campania. A stone base with the access steps and the delimitation of the cell that housed the divinity have come to light. And also the colored terracotta decorations of the roof with the lion-shaped drips. And, again, an extraordinary gorgon, a moving Aphrodite. But also seven amazing bull heads, the altar with the grooved stone to collect the liquids of the sacrifices and hundreds of votive offerings. Among these, the images of Eros riding a dolphin stand out, which could refer to the mythical Poseidon, the god who gave the city its name. These are the extraordinary finds found during the works for the sanctuary discovered in 2019 along the walls of the ancient city. An excavation, explains the director of the archaeological park Tiziana D'Angelo, which promises to "change the known history of ancient Poseidonia".
Paestum
A open window on a 500 year long fragment of the life of the city that the Greeks of Sybaris founded in 600 BC and which then passed under the Lucanians and finally became a colony of Rome. Started in 2020 and immediately blocked by the pandemic, excavations have resumed for a few months. “What we are facing today is the sanctuary abandoned between the end of the XNUMXnd and the beginning of the XNUMXst century BC. to C”, D'Angelo reiterates. The analyzes of the clay decorations have made it possible to date its foundation in the first quarter of the fifth century BC, when some of the most important monumental buildings that have come down to us had already arisen in the Greek colony. Between these the temple of Hera, built between 560 and 520 BC, and that of Athena, which is traced back to 500 BC The temple of Neptune instead it was completed a little later, in 460 BC, after a long gestation.
“It is the smallest Doric peripteral temple that we know before the Hellenistic age, the first building in Paestum that fully expresses the Doric canon”. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, former director of Paestum, now at the helm of Pompeii, points this out. Very important, therefore, also because it demonstrates the artistic and cultural autonomy of the community and disavows those who have always believed that in the colonies they limited themselves to copying the productions of the motherland. Also extraordinary is the expanse of objects found in the space that separates the front of the building from the altar, erected as a rule outside. Found in fact, terracotta statuettes with the faces of the offerers or those of the deities, even 15 those with the little Eros riding the dolphin, miniature temples and altars.
Small masterpieces of craftsmanship that are added to the seven bull heads found around the altar, perhaps "props" available to those who administered the cult. To understand more, of course, it will take time, studies, restorations, laboratory analyzes will be needed. "Truly a unique context that sheds a very interesting light on ancient religious life", says the general manager of the museums Massimo Osanna.
A site of inestimable value
The comment of the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano: “The discovery of hundreds of ex votos, statues and altars in the small temple of Paestum confirms the extraordinary value of this site. It confirms its great potential on which we are working. Just over a month ago I went to Paestum just to check the state of the archaeological park and understand all that can be done. Also in terms of funding, to strengthen conservation and development activities in the area. Each excavation that brings to light the historical evidence of the past. It demonstrates the immense wealth of our nation's archaeological heritage of which there is still much to discover.
(Source of texts and photos from the Ansa agency)
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