During excavations for the construction of the new gymnasium at the primary school in Berbenno di Valtellina (in the northern Lombardy region of Italy), the remains of a sacred area dating back at least five thousand years have emerged. Archaeologists are working to document this exceptional discovery. It consists of several archaeological structures, including a […]
Sanctuaries
Posted inAntiquity
The Gluhite Kamani Complex, a Thracian Sanctuary Carved into the Rock
Located in the heights of the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, Gluhite Kamani is one of Bulgaria’s most impressive and mysterious archaeological sites. Used as a sanctuary by the Thracian tribes, recent research has found evidence of its use from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. The Gluhite Kamani complex, which means “Silent Stones” in Bulgarian, consists […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
78 Silos for Storing Grain and Homes of the Builders of the Bronze Age Circular Sanctuary of Pömmelte Unearthed in Germany
Large-scale archaeological excavations from 2018 to 2022 impressively demonstrated, with a total of almost 140 house plans investigated, how people lived in the third millennium BC at the circular sanctuary of Pömmelte, located near the city of Barby in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Various scientific methods now even allow us to reconstruct what people […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
The Great Gallo-Roman Sanctuary of the Redones Unearthed in Rennes
In a recent archaeological excavation in the old Hôtel Dieu neighborhood in Rennes, archaeologists have discovered a large sanctuary. The discovery is part of the redevelopment of the site of the old Hôtel Dieu hospital. The sanctuary, dating from the 3rd century AD, was uncovered after the excavation of the north wall enclosing its courtyard, […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Rare Artifacts and Remains of Ritual Meals Found in a Well at Ostia Antica, in Front of the Temple of Hercules
New archaeological fragments of objects used in imperial life and linked to cult rituals have appeared in the excavations carried out in the Sacred Zone of the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome. The discovery, following the recovery of two fragments of the Fasti Ostienses that came to light last year, […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Excavations at Sanctuary of Zeus on Aegina’s Mount Hellanion Reveal it Was Used as Refuge During Destruction of Mycenaean Palaces
A team from the Piraeus and Islands Antiquities Inspection and the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece has been exploring the summit of Mount Hellanion, the highest mountain in Aegina, since 2021. Where the Church of the Ascension now stands overlooking the Saronic Gulf, there once was a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus, whose main buildings are […]
Posted inIron Age Archaeology
Iron Age Urartian Fortresses with Shrines and Open-Air Altars Discovered in Türkiye
Archaeological excavations, ongoing since 2016 within the bounds of Tunceli province in central-eastern Türkiye, aim to identify new Iron Age and Antiquity settlements in the region and examine archaeological remains lacking sufficient information. Recent work uncovered a new archaeological site, Masumu-Pak Fortress, while also examining in detail some features of the already-known Aşağı Doluca Fortress. […]
Posted inAncient Rome, Geography
The Mountain that Attracts Storms and Was Climbed by Three Roman Emperors
At the border between Turkey and Syria, near the mouth of the Orontes River on the Mediterranean Sea and about 30 kilometers north of ancient Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra), lies a mountain that has played a prominent role in the history of the region. Today it’s called Jebel Aqra (Mount Kel in Turkish), but it […]
Posted inArchaeology
Sanctuary of the Water Goddess Anahita Found in the Fortress of Rabana-Merquly of the Parthian Empire
The ancient mountain settlement of Rabana-Merquly, situated in present-day Iraqi Kurdistan, was not merely a military fortress but may have also served as a “sanctuary” dedicated to the ancient Persian water goddess Anahita. The architectural structures near a natural waterfall and the remains of a possible fire altar suggest the existence of a place of […]
Posted inAncient Rome
The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia was so Large it was Visible from Rome 22 Miles Away
The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia is a significant sacred complex dedicated to the goddess Fortuna, located in the ancient city of Praeneste (now Palestrina, 35 kilometers, about 22 miles, east of Rome). It is the “largest complex of late Republican architecture in ancient Italy”, as scholars have defined it. It was built in the late […]
