8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New Discoveries at Ancient Greek City of Paestum’s ‘Little Doric Temple’ in Italy

Archaeologists have made a series of extraordinary discoveries that may fundamentally alter the understanding of the past of the ancient city of Magna Graecia thanks to the delicate restoration work done on the Greek temple discovered in 2019 along the walls of the ancient city Poseidonia, present-day Paestum.

Located in the Italian province of Salerno, Paestum was a large ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). It is now famous for three Doric-order Greek temples dating from around 550 to 450 BC.

The ruins of another temple were found in 2019 during excavations. More artifacts have been found as a result of the ongoing excavation, including a stone pedestal with steps, colored terracotta roof decorations with lion-shaped dripstones, an extraordinary gorgon, and an impactful representation of Aphrodite.

In addition, an altar with groves in the stones to catch the blood from sacrifices and seven bullheads are present. Votive offerings that have been uncovered depict Eros riding a dolphin and proceeding in the direction of Poseidon, the god who is responsible for the city’s name.

Eros riding a dolphin. Photo: Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia

Findings which, as confirmed by the director Tiziana D’Angelo herself, could “change the known history of ancient Poseidonia”.

Tiziana D’Angelo, the Director of the Paestum archaeological site, told ANSA the dig was set to “change the recorded history of ancient Poseidonia”.

It’s almost like looking through a window into the city’s 500-year history. Founded by Greeks from Sybaris in 600 BC, it was later conquered by Lucanians before becoming a Roman colony.

The new temple is the smaller Doric peripteral temple that we know before the Hellenistic age, the first building in Paestum that fully expresses the Doric canon.

Terracotta bull head. Photo: Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia
Terracotta bull head. Photo: Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia

The ‘little temple’ (tempietto) is a structure that measures 15.6 meters by 7.5 meters and has four columns in front and seven on the sides. It is in the Doric order, like the others, but it is distinguished by the purity of its shapes.

The analysis of the clay decorations allowed the foundation to be dated to the first quarter of the fifth century BC. Some of the most important monumental buildings still standing today were constructed during this time period, including the Temple of Hera, which was constructed between 560 and 520 BC, and the Temple of Athena, which dates back to 500 BC. The Temple of Neptune, on the other hand, was not finished until 460 BC.

Photo: Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia

The little temple is very significant because it partially exemplifies the community’s artistic and cultural autonomy. It further disproves those who have always believed that the colonies limited themselves to copying the works of the motherland.

Cover Photo: Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia

Related Articles

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

Christians Supplied Medieval Pagans with Horses for Sacrifice for Funeral Rituals

20 May 2024

20 May 2024

In the late medieval period, pagans in the Baltic region of northern Europe imported horses from neighboring Christian nations for...

Klazomenai, ceramic center of ancient period was found the first seal belonging to the city

20 November 2022

20 November 2022

A seal belonging to the city was found for the first time during excavations in the ancient city of Klazomenai...

Archaeologists uncovered an Aztec altar with human ashes in Mexico City

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 16th-century altar in Plaza Garibaldi, the center in Mexico City famous for its revelry...

Rare Elizabethan ship discovered at a quarry

2 January 2023

2 January 2023

An Elizabethan ship in “remarkable condition” has been discovered on the lake bed of a Kent quarry, one of only...

Discoveries on the island of Minorca shed light on the history of Roman conquests in the Balearic Islands

31 July 2021

31 July 2021

The University of Alicante Institute for Archeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH) Researchs discovered a collection of buried Roman antiquities going...

13,000-year-old Clovis campsite discovered in Michigan

10 September 2021

10 September 2021

In St. Joseph County, independent researcher Thomas Talbot and University of Michigan scholars uncovered a 13,000-year-old Clovis campsite, which is...

Britain’s first Roman funerary bed is discovered in central London after 2,000 years

7 February 2024

7 February 2024

Archaeologists excavating a construction site in London have unearthed the first Roman “flat-packed” funerary furniture – a fully intact Roman...

1,500-Year-Old Stained Glass and Mosaics Discovered at Harran Cathedral Excavation in Türkiye

7 February 2025

7 February 2025

Recent excavations at the historic Harran archaeological site, which is included on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List, have yielded rare...

“Cardiff’s earliest house” unearthed during an archaeological dig may shed light on the city’s earliest inhabitants

15 July 2022

15 July 2022

Archaeological excavation in a city park in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has uncovered what is believed to be the...

Amateur Female Detectorist Discovers Rare 1,500-Year-Old Brooch in Northern Finland

8 August 2025

8 August 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in the Finnish town of Kemi is offering fresh insights into the lives of elite women...

An inscription with the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

An inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of...

A center on the Anatolian Mesopotamian trade route; Tavsanli Mound

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Excavations at Tavşanlı mound, which is known to be the first settlement in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age, continue....

A small temple discovered in the ancient city of Selinunte, one of the largest and most important ancient Greek cities in southern Italy

9 August 2024

9 August 2024

Recent excavations in the ancient Magna Graecia city of Selinunte in southwestern Sicily have revealed the presence of a new...

Petalodus shark teeth found for the first time in China

29 August 2021

29 August 2021

A 290 million-year-old fossil of a shark with petal-shaped teeth has been discovered in China. Seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth were...