27 October 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.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



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

2,000-year-old Celtic hoard of gold ‘rainbow cups’ discovered in northeastern Germany

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

Archaeologists have found an ancient Celtic coins treasure consisting of 41 gold coins in a field in Brandenburg, a state...

Turkey to Present 12 Historic Artifacts to Istanbul Patriarch

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

The government said on Monday that Turkey will deliver stolen icons from ancient local churches to Istanbul’s Fener Greek Patriarch...

From Toy to Treasure: Detectorist’s ‘Lucky Mistake’ Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Roman Brooch in Dorset

25 September 2025

25 September 2025

A metal detectorist in Dorset, southwest England, has unearthed a 2,000-year-old Roman brooch. Initially mistaken for a child’s toy, the...

A 1,300-year-old necklace is the ‘richest of its type ever uncovered in Britain’

6 December 2022

6 December 2022

Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) archaeologists have found a “once-in-a-lifetime” 1,300-year-old gold and gemstone necklace dating back to 630-670 AD...

Analysis of Butchered Bones, Somerset Pit Reveals Bronze Age Cannibalism

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the bloodiest massacre in early Bronze Age Britain and evidence of Bronze Age cannibalism. It is the...

Archaeologists unearths Unique Tomb of 6th Century BC Egyptian Commander at the archaeological area of ​​Abu Sir

24 July 2022

24 July 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on July 15 that a team of Czech archaeologists, while excavating near the Giza...

“Ladies of Anavlochos”: Crete’s Puzzle in Pieces

9 May 2025

9 May 2025

Perched high on the rugged slopes of Mount Anavlochos, overlooking the azure expanse of the Mediterranean Sea, lie the silent...

Outrage in Türkiye: 3,000-Year-Old Unesco Tomb in Phrygian Valley Turned Into Café

1 July 2025

1 July 2025

A 3,000-year-old rock-cut tomb located in the historical Phrygian Valley—hailed as Türkiye’s “second Cappadocia” and listed on the UNESCO World...

A Ribat Mosque shares space with the Roman sanctuary dedicated to Sun and Ocean was discovered in Portugal

2 November 2023

2 November 2023

The ruins of a second Islamic ‘ribat’ mosque dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries have been discovered at...

1,400-year-old royal hall found in Suffolk, UK

5 October 2022

5 October 2022

Archaeologists, evidence of a 1,400-year-old royal Hall of the first Kings of East Anglia has been discovered in Rendlesham, Suffolk,...

Oman has recovered an exceptional collection of silver jewelry from a prehistoric grave

7 November 2022

7 November 2022

From a prehistoric grave dating to the 3rd millennium BC in Dahwa, North Batinah, a team of international archaeologists working...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...

Archaeologists Unearth 30 Neolithic Homes at Karahantepe, Revealing Daily Life and Diet of Early Settlers

18 October 2025

18 October 2025

Archaeologists working in Karahantepe, one of the major sites of the Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) Project in southeastern Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa...

Japan’s Oldest Multiplication Table Discovered in Nara, Dating Back 1,300 Years

7 September 2024

7 September 2024

A strip of wood discovered in the ruins of Fujiwara Palace in Nara Prefecture turned out to be part of...

2600-year-old Med period artifacts found in Oluz Höyük, in Turkey

17 October 2022

17 October 2022

During the Oluz Höyük excavations in Amasya, artifacts dating back to the Med Kingdom period were found, dating back to...