‘Extremely rare’ ancient Roman temple found at supermarket construction site

At the site where it was supposed to build a shopping and entertainment complex in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, builders discovered the ruins of an ancient Roman temple. After this find, building plans had to be forgotten. The further the excavations continue, the more the find excites the imagination of archaeologists.

Sarsina is a sleepy rural town of barely 3,000 nestled among the pristine Apennine mountains in Italy’s Emilia Romagna, surrounded by stunning views and grazing sheep, CNN tells CNN. Although this town has a glorious past as a strategic defensive outpost of the Roman Empire and the birthplace of the famous playwright Plautus, today there is little to do here other than hiking and bird watching.

Local residents have been anxiously awaiting the construction of a complex that will include a new supermarket, fitness center and playground. But this was not destined to come true – at least not in the way it was originally planned. And all because workers at a construction site on the outskirts of the city in December 2022 unearthed the ruins of an ancient Roman temple – or “capitol” – dating from the first century BC.

This summer, we got our first look at an underground treasure: a single imposing structure made of horizontal blocks of sandstone and marble slabs, 577 square meters wide, which the researchers identified as a podium, above which the columns and walls of an ancient temple were erected. And what has been dug out of the ground so far may be just the tip of the iceberg.

“We excavated three separate rooms, probably dedicated to the triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva,” lead archaeologist Romina Pirraglia told CNN. “Excavations are still ongoing and we have already uncovered an older, deeper layer of ruins dating back to the 4th century BC, when the area was inhabited by the Umbrian people (an ancient Italic tribe that lived before the Romans). The whole temple could be even larger than what we see now.”

According to Romina Pirraglia, the opening of the capitol – the main temple in an important Roman city and a center for trade, as well as religious and social interactions – once again confirms the strategic role that Sarsina played during the Roman Empire. The city was built in a key mountainous area close to the border with Tuscany and overlooking the Savio River, an important waterway connecting the central and northern Roman cities.

The opening of the temple prompted the local authorities to revise their construction plans. Federica Gonzato, superintendent of archeology, fine arts and landscape for the provinces of Ravenna, Rimini and Forlì-Cesena, of which Sarsina is a part, is adamant in her desire to preserve the ruins and continue to explore their great past.

“We will not demolish it to make room for modern structures, this should be very clear. Previous urban plans will be changed, we will find new construction sites for recreation and sports, – said Gonzato. “The temple is an incredible find that sheds light on how ancient Roman cities rose and fell over time.”

What makes the find exceptional is the temple’s unique state of preservation. “The amazing quality of the stones has been preserved from looting, enemy invasions and looting for thousands of years thanks to the remote location of Sarsina, a quiet place away from major cities,” adds Gonzato. “Temples like this were regularly looted, used as quarries, from which stones and marble slabs were taken out for reuse in the construction of new houses. But the podium of the Sarsina capitol was practically not damaged, and its entrance staircase is well preserved, which is extremely rare.”

Federica Gonzato believes that this discovery will serve to further research on demographics and urban transformations in ancient times. And this place is more than just a temple podium.

Romina Pirraglia claims that there are indications that the building was reused during the Middle Ages. An ancient drainage system has been discovered near medieval tombs and hearths, indicating that the locals probably inhabited the site or used it for other social purposes.

“This is the beauty of Italy: wherever you dig, some hidden treasure crawls out of the ground. Miracles never cease to amaze us,” says Gonzato.