2024-01-13 01:11:00
Paestum, extraordinary discovery: two new Doric temples, the images
In the western area of the ancient city of Poseidonia-Paestum, close to the city walls and a few hundred meters from the sea, a stratigraphic excavation campaign is underway which has brought to light two Greek temples in Doric style. These sacred buildings shed new light on the origins and urban development of the Magna Graecia polis and provide crucial data for understanding the evolution of Doric architecture in Poseidonia and Magna Graecia. The first temple, initially intercepted in June 2019 and investigated starting from September 2022, dates back to the first decades of the 5th century BC, and today constitutes, due to its architectural and dimensional characteristics, an absolute unicum of Doric order temple architecture . It is preserved in the portions of the stylobate (basement of the columns) and the crepidoma (steps where the temple was built) and measures 11.60×7.60 m, with a peristasis of 4×6 columns.
However, from investigations carried out in recent weeks, the history of the sanctuary appears to be even older. Inside the temple structure, beneath the peristasis, 14 fragmentary Doric capitals and other architectural materials were reused, probably for ritual purposes. The capitals are of similar size to those of the small temple explored so far. The typology is, however, different and comparable with that of the capitals of the temple of Hera I, the so-called “Basilica”, the oldest of the three major temples of Paestum.
Two new Doric temples discovered in Paestum, Sangiuliano: “Initiatives after decades of inertia”
“The recent discoveries confirm how much there is still a lot to do in Paestum in terms of excavations, research and also in terms of valorization. After decades of inertia, the Ministry of Culture is giving impetus to notable initiatives. We have reopened the National Archaeological Museum after important and demanding rearrangement works which allow for a valuable exhibition itinerary”. This was declared by the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, on the discovery of two new Doric temples in the archaeological park of Paestum. “In the next few weeks I will be back in Paestum to underline the value of the 20 million euro redevelopment project in the former Cirio factory. In recent months I also went to Velia to inaugurate the exhibition ‘Elea: the rebirth and guarantee an initial allocation of resources to start building the museum”, adds Sangiuliano.
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