Paestum excavations reveal hundreds of votive offerings and terracotta statues

Recent excavations at Paestum have uncovered hundreds of objects including votive offerings, terracottas, and altars from a small temple discovered in 2019. Among the finds are a gorgon head, an Aphrodite figure, seven bull heads, and 15 depictions of Eros riding a dolphin, likely referencing Poseidon. The temple, measuring 15.60 by 7.50 meters, is the smallest known peripteral Doric temple before the Hellenistic period, with four columns on the front and seven on the sides. It was built in the first quarter of the 5th century BCE, after the temples of Hera (560-520 BCE) and Athena (500 BCE) but before the Temple of Neptune (c. 460 BCE). Gabriel Zuchtriegel, former director of the Paestum Archaeological Park and now head of Pompeii, described it as a miniature model of the Temple of Neptune and a missing link between the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. The sanctuary was abandoned between the late 2nd and early 1st century BCE for reasons still unclear. A notable detail is a statue with a dolphin signed by the Avili family, potters of Lazio origin known at Delos but previously undocumented at Paestum. The temple's location near the city walls and close to the sea meant ships passing by would face it. Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano stated the discovery confirms the site's extraordinary value and potential, while Park Director Tiziana D'Angelo said it changes the known history of ancient Poseidonia.