Parts of new Doric monument found at Paestum

Removing what had become over the years a real jungle that covered the western side of the walls of Paestum, the archaeologists of the Archaeological Park came across a completely unexpected discovery: capitals, columns, cornices and triglyphs belonging to a Doric building in the city of temples.

The most surprising discovery is a panel, probably a metope, in sandstone decorated with three rosettes in relief, such as are also found in other Doric buildings built between the sixth and fifth centuries BC in Paestum and its territory.

The cleaning of the walls began a few days ago as part of a European project funded with structural funds and aimed at the restoration and redevelopment of the walls of ancient Paestum, about 5 km long.

The architectural elements, of extreme interest also for the presence of traces of plaster and red painting, seem to have been accumulated along the perimeter walls during agricultural works since the 1960s. They seem to belong to a smaller building - a small temple or a portico (stoà) - which would date back to the same period as the Tomb of the Diver and the Temple of Athena (end of the 6th/beginning of the 5th century BC).

As the director of the Paestum Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, explains, the area has in the past provided a votive collection, with clay statues of female deities on a throne and ceramic fragments dating back to between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC. It is located in the vicinity of what was probably the kerameikos of Paestum, the craft district where the famous painted vases of the city were made.

"Now, somewhere between the artisan quarter and the city walls, there must have been our building, a real jewel of late archaic Doric architecture. The question remains: where exactly?"