8 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The remains of two new Doric temples are discovered under the Italian site of Paestum

Archaeologists have unearthed two new temples in the Doric style in Paestum, an ancient Greek colony in southern Italy.

The temples were part of Magna Graecia (Great Greece), a thriving group of ancient Greek cities in southern Italy that date back to the eighth century BC. When the Romans conquered the ancient Greek colony of Poseidonia in 273 BC, they renamed the city Paestum.

Experts discovered two superimposed Greek temples of the Doric order next to its ancient walls, a few meters from the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to those already known, such as Hera’s or Poseidon’s, two of the best preserved from antiquity.

The first, located in 2019 but investigated three years later, has been dated to the first decades of the 5th century BC and, due to its characteristics and dimensions, represents “a unique case in Doric religious architecture.”

The remains of the temples were uncovered at the archaeological site of Paestum, which is located on the western coast of southern Italy in the province of Salerno in the region of Campania, the country’s Ministry of Culture announced.

According to the ministry, the latest discovery adds to our understanding of the ancient settlement and the evolution of Doric architecture in Poseidonia and Magna Graecia as a whole. The findings significantly expand our knowledge of the city’s layout, for example.

Tiziana D’Angelo, the director of the Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia, described the discoveries as “exceptional” in a press release, saying they provide key new evidence that will help to reconstruct the ancient history of Poseidonia.

Today, Only some parts of the stylobate, the surface that supports the columns, and the crepidoma, the stepped platform on which the entire building rests, are preserved. The temple measured 11.60 meters long by 7.60 meters wide surrounded by columns (4×6). It had six columns on the long sides and four on the short. These dimensions and architectural features are unique for a Doric temple.

However, research has led to the discovery of a second temple from the sixth century BC that is “more modest” in size but has “similar” characteristics and may be older.

Archaeologists consider the possibility that this sanctuary collapsed at some point and was replaced by a new temple on top a century later, in a period of strong growth of the ‘polis’.

The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, acknowledged that these discoveries confirm that “There is still much to excavate and investigate” after “years of inertia” in Paestum, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998.

Paestum is thought to have been founded around 600 B.C. by settlers from Sybaris, the most populous city in Magna Graecia. Paestum, originally known as Poseidonia by the Greeks, thrived for approximately two centuries before being conquered by the Lucanians—an Italic tribe—around 400 B.C. The settlement was later conquered by Rome and renamed Paestum in 273 B.C.

Cover Photo: Ministura della Cultura Italia

Related Articles

The bronze age village Afragola buried by the Plinian eruption of mount Vesuvius 4,000 Years Ago

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Mount Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption about 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before it buried the Roman city of Pompeii—left remarkable preservation of...

13th-Century skeletons Unearthed in Annaea Mound

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

At the historical Kadıkalesi archaeological site in Turkey’s western Aydin province’s Kuşadası district, a total of five skeletons thought to...

Archaeologists identify three new Roman camps in Arabia

27 April 2023

27 April 2023

Through remote sensing analysis, archaeologists have identified three new Roman fortified camps throughout northern Arabia. Their study, released today in...

134 ancient settlements discovered north of Hadrian’s Wall

26 May 2022

26 May 2022

134 ancient settlements have been found during a survey of the region north of Hadrian’s Wall in the United Kingdom....

Norwegian couple found a Viking Age Grave And Sword in their garden

3 July 2023

3 July 2023

While trying to expand their home, a Norwegian couple found a Viking Age grave and sword in their garden. It’s...

Google Earth Helped Archaeologists Make İmportant Discoveries in Leicestershire

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

After Google Earth revealed traces of underground structures, archaeologists digging at a Roman settlement in Leicestershire say they have made...

Receding waters in Lake Van reveal rock-cut Urartian port

22 September 2022

22 September 2022

Located in the eastern province of Van in Turkey, the falling water level of Lake Van, with the decrease in...

2,000-year-old Monumental Tomb of Roman Elite discovered in Apollon Smintheus sanctuary in Türkiye

2 January 2024

2 January 2024

A 2,000-year-old monumental tomb from the Roman era has been unearthed at the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary in the village of...

“Human evolution” Migration out of Africa was affected by climate constraints.

25 August 2021

25 August 2021

The story of modern man’s migration from Africa still remains unclear in many aspects. Why did people migrate? Is it...

Whispers of Time: Exploring the Enigmatic Bronze Age Towers of Oman

24 February 2025

24 February 2025

The ancient Bronze Age towers scattered across Oman, dating back nearly 5,000 years, have long been a subject of curiosity...

Ancient tombs discovered at Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Archaeologists discovered several graves and a leaden sarcophagus possibly dating from the 14th century at Paris’ Notre Dame church, France’s...

Over 1,600-yr-old tomb of embracing lovers found in north China

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Archaeologists recently published a study of the tomb of cuddling lovers, dating to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), more than...

An architectural gem from the medieval monastery of Posa, Germany

26 July 2023

26 July 2023

Archaeological excavations have been taking place on the Posaer Berg (Posa Hill) near Zeitz (Burgenland) every year since 2017. They...

Homo Sapiens are older than we previously thought

16 January 2022

16 January 2022

Researchers have discovered that Omo I skeletons, previously thought to be less than 200,000 years old, are 230,000 years old....

The 7th-Century Lombard Kings’ Tombs Found in Pavia, Italy

24 December 2024

24 December 2024

The excavations, conducted between September and October by the Catholic University, uncovered numerous burials attributed, on the one hand, to...