An altar from the late Hellenistic era (ca. 1st century B.C.) has been discovered at the Segesta Archaeological Park in Sicily. It was found just a few centimeters under the surface during ground clearing work in the Southern Acropolis Area.

The altar is a sculpted stone piece in the shape of a truncated pyramid and decorated with carved moldings and reliefs. Small round moldings line the base while in the center is a high-relief swag topped with baskets overflowing with flowers and fruit. On the top section of the altar is a terracotta brick placed horizontally with Ionic volutes on each end. This was likely meant to hold relics or references to family heroes or ancestors. It has a niche on the back where a metal hook would have been attached to anchor it to masonry.

A second associated piece found next to it was either a smaller altar or perhaps a support for a cult statue. It has a roughly chiseled surface to aid in plaster adherence. At least three of the sides were covered in plaster originally and likely painted. Today only one small fragment of the plaster survives. The top has a molded cornice and horizontal surface, like the larger altar does. Both pieces were meant for family worship rather than for public devotions.

Segesta was founded by the Elymians, one of the three cultural groups indigenous to Sicily. Ancient sources record Segesta in territorial competition with Selinunte as early as 580 B.C. It was that long-standing conflict that drove the cities into alliances with Greek polities and colonies. Segesta partnered with Athens in the 5th century B.C. but the alliance could not prevent its destruction by the Greek tyrant Agathocles of Syracuse in 307 B.C. Whoever he didn’t kill he sold into slavery, and the city never fully recovered.

It supported Carthage in the early years of the 4th century B.C., but ditched it in the First Punic War (264 B.C.), turning to Rome for naval and military succor. It remained a significant port city through the 2nd century A.D., but the ancient sources stop mentioning it after that, and it was abandoned for good at the time of the Arab occupation of Sicily around 900 A.D.

The ruins of the Hellenistic city on a steep hilltop overlooking the Gulf of Castellamare are today an archaeological park. There’s a Greek theater and a Doric temple that was never completed.

An archaeological survey has unearthed a Roman-era necropolis and a long section of Roman aqueduct in the historic center of Belgrade near the Serbian Parliament building. Fourteen Roman tombs dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. have been excavated, revealing a variety of burial styles and several significant grave goods.

Two of the tombs are rectangular and made with brick walls and arched ceilings. Another two are brick caskets. Four of them are stone sarcophaguses, affordable only to the very wealthy. One was a sort of spoglia cist, a tomb made of other tombstones recycled from older graves. A fragment of an inscribed tombstone identifies it as the funerary marker of a Roman soldier who died at the age of 46 after serving 30 years in the legions. On the other end of the spectrum, two intact skeletons were found buried simply in a pit. Their hands were crossed on the chest and the graves were oriented east-west, indicating these were Christian burials.

The tombs were looted in antiquity, but the thieves did not get every last thing. A fragment of a gold necklace with a semi-precious green stone was found under the bones of the deceased inside one of the stone sarcophagi. One object is particularly special due to its fragility and unique material. It’s a hair pin made of iridescent glass and in excellent condition. Hair pins were usually made of metal or bone. This glass version is the only one of its kind ever found in Belgrade.

The excavated area was the southeastern part of the ancient city of Singidunum, a settlement founded by the Celtic Scordisci people in the 3rd century B.C. It was conquered by Rome in 75 B.C. and rose to importance from its association with a major fort defending the Danubian Limes (the Roman military frontier that followed the Danube). It was granted the rights of a city (municipium) by Hadrian in 169 A.D., and became an official colony in 239 A.D. The future emperor Jovian was born there in 332 A.D. The Legio IV Flavia Felix was garrisoned at Singidunum from the reign of Domitian in 86 A.D. until the Hunnic invasions of the mid-5th century.

Two weeks before the discovery of the Roman graves, buried beneath Ottoman-era remains, a stretch of aqueduct emerged. The presence of a necropolis in the area was known, but a length of aqueduct 200 feet long complete with original lead pipes was an unexpected find. Archaeologists believe it was a later offshoot built in the 3rd or 4th century of the main aqueduct built by Vespasian in the 1st century and was likely used to supply fresh water to the IV Flavia Felix in the fort.

This rich archaeological site has an ignominious future in store: being paved over to make a public parking lot. The construction of the lot would destroy all the immovable ancient remains. No new plans have been made since the recent discoveries (or least none have been announced).

The City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade is responsible for their fate . The conditions prescribed by the institute before the construction of the garage are that the archaeological heritage that will be discovered during the research should increase the monumental heritage of the entire area where, in addition to the House of the National Assembly, there is also the building of the Agrarna banka and the endowment of Đoka Vlajković,” answered Ignjatović .

“We will wait a little longer for that decision, and one of the solutions is to present the remains within the archeological park, which would be the first of its kind in Belgrade .”

An ancient shipwreck from the 3rd century B.C. was discovered by divers from the Croatian and Italian navies during anti-mine training exercises in the Adriatic. The wreck, found at a depth of more than 140 feet below the surface, carried a cargo of amphorae. Underneath the field of amphorae is a complete ancient shipwreck. It is one of the earliest fully preserved shipwrecks ever found on the eastern coast of the Adriatic.

The joint training mine-counting mission took place in the sea water around Šćedro Island because no existing archaeological sites had been mapped there, but the search for mines provided an excellent opportunity to cooperate with the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media on exploring the seabed.

The activity was carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the Conservation Department in Split of the Ministry of Culture and Media and the University of Split. After the perimeter of the search was determined, a multi-layered recording (scanning) of the bottom was started, by processing the obtained data, i.e. by reviewing the recorded material, several potential “contacts” (positions) that could represent archaeological sites (shipwrecks) were detected. The target positions were then inspected with an underwater ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) equipped with a smaller sonar and camera, or joint teams of Croatian and Italian anti-mine divers immediately performed dives in order to determine the context of the findings. An inspection of one such position resulted in the discovery of a hitherto undiscovered, fully preserved ancient shipwreck.

Underwater archaeologists will return to the site to explore its context and document the placement of the cargo on the sea floor. Once the wreck is fully recorded, experts will come up with a plan for its long-term protection and conservation.

A volunteer digger at the Roman auxiliary fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland unearthed a rare silver phalera with a relief of the head of Medusa earlier this month. It was discovered on the floor of a barracks dating to the Hadrianic period of occupation in the 2nd century A.D.

The silver disc has a raised rim with the bust of Medusa facing the viewer. She has wings on the top of her head and wild wavy hair, the prettified version of the formerly terrifying snake-haired gorgon. The only snakes on the portrait are two slim fellas tied in a knot under her chin like a bolo tie.

Phalerae were worn by centurions and standard-bearers in the Roman legions, emblems of rank and valor. They came in sets of three to 10 roundels mounted on leather straps that buckled on the back. They could be plain discs or decorated with reliefs of deities, animals, mythological creatures or emperors. The Gorgon Medusa was a popular motif for phalerae, breastplates and other military accoutrements as her image was believed to be apotropaic (ie, have the power to ward off evil or bad luck).

An example comparable to the Vindolanda find is engraved on the tombstone of Roman centurion Marcus Caelius, notable as the only archaeological epigraphic source to explicitly reference the Varian disaster of 9 A.D. Marcus Caelius was the primus pilus (senior centurion) of the XVIII Legion, one of the three legions Publius Quinctilius Varus led haplessly into an ambush in the Teutoburg Forest that would destroy them all and bring the Roman attempt to conquer Germany beyond the Rhine to a screeching halt. After his death in the calamitous battle, Caelius’ brother had the funerary stone erected in his honor. Now in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn, the tombstone depicts the centurion wearing his phalerae. The central roundel, larger than the others, is a gorgoneion.

Phalerae were valuable status symbols and would not have been intentionally discarded. The one at Vindolanda was probably lost by accident, much to its owner’s dismay. It is currently undergoing conservation and will be exhibited next year at the Vindolanda museum.