A team of 50 researchers uncovered a temple on the island of Euboea filled with gold, silver, and amber artifacts. The 30-meter structure dates to the 7th century BC.
The Greek Ministry of Culture says excavations revealed rich offerings: Corinthian alabaster, Attic vases, locally made ritual trays, and jewelry made from gold, silver, and coral.
Euboea (also called Evia) is the second-largest island in Greece after Crete and lies in the Aegean Sea. Myth says Poseidon built a luxurious underground palace there. Today the island is a resort gem, often called the “Athenian Riviera,” and tourists from around the world flock there for beach vacations. But Euboea impresses more than vacationers; archaeologists keep making remarkable discoveries.
What else surprised researchers?
Inside the temple, archaeologists found a series of structures with unknown purposes. They think some may have served as altars. The most unusual is a horseshoe-shaped altar; thick layers of ash suggest it was used most often. On its first level, the team found ceramic artifacts dated to the late 8th century BC.
The ministry said some of these altars were likely built before the temple.
In one of the temple’s oldest sections, researchers discovered bronze figurines from the Geometric period depicting bulls and a ram.
Remnants of 9th-century BC structures suggest the site has a deeper history than the temple alone, The Independent reported.
Experts said initial discoveries may suggest the cult has roots in the centuries after the end of the Mycenaean period, though study of the temple’s oldest level has only just begun.
The Ministry of Culture also pointed to a 2015 discovery in southern Greece: a 3,500-year-old warrior’s grave. The burial contained solid gold rings, intricately designed swords, ivory combs with fine teeth, and more than a thousand beads made of precious stones. Scholars consider that treasure the most significant discovery in continental Greece in the past 65 years.
