A team of archaeologists led by Francesco D' Andria has discovered the altar of the temple of Minerva (Athena) in the town of Castro in the province of Lecce in the Apulia (Puglia) region of south-eastern Italy.
Credit: Quotidiano di Puglia |
The Castro altar is similar to those found in Metaponto, a Lucanian city which has been the subject of systematic excavation campaigns which revealed the famous Greek temples and their altars in front of them. However, the Messapic altars were simple pits dug in the earth where the libations were burned and offered, whereas the one at Castro is a built altar not unlike like those of the Hellenistic (eg. Altar of Pergamon) and Roman (eg. Ara Pacis) periods.
Credit: Quotidiano di Puglia |
The castle of the Adriatic town has been the focus of successive excavation campaigns since the year 2000, which, in addition to the Messapic fortifications dating back to the fourth century, have now also identified the Sanctuary of Minerva (Athena) from which the ancient city received its name, Castrum Minervae.
Credit: Quotidiano di Puglia |
The altar dates back to the second half of the fourth century BC and is contemporaneous to the cult statue of the goddess, found in 2015, and another small bronze statue found a few years earlier, both of which depict Trojan Athena, who wears a Phrygian helmet, as further proof of the connections of Castrum Minervae with the Aeneas myth.
Credit: Quotidiano di Puglia |
Only two of the six metres long altar have been excavated because the most of it is located under the road surface and in an adjacent plot of land, where - D' Andria is sure - lies the temple itself, which, in Greek worship, stood behind the enclosure where sacrifices were made.
Credit: Quotidiano di Puglia |
Source: Quotidiano di Puglia [November 16, 2017]