An archaeological dig beneath an old Christian monastery recently unearthed a stele, or slab, depicting an unknown Roman god.
The stele depicts a deity emerging from a cup of leaves with "astral symbols." In his right hand, the god holds onto a long horn and tree. These elements suggest that the unknown deity could be a fertility god. These pictorial elements also suggest that the stele dates back to the Iron Age, near the 1st millennium B.C.
Archaeologists discovered the stele near the ancient city of Doliche in Southeast Turkey, which is near the present-day town of Gaziantep on the mountain of Duluk Baba Tepesi. The site most recently was an old Christian monastery, but before that, it served as a temple for the god Jupiter Dolichenus. The archaeological team also found the enclosing wall of the 2,000-year-old sanctuary within the ruins of the old monastery.
The god Jupiter Dolichenus was one of the most important deities of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century A.D. The deity was a combination of the Roman Jupiter god and beliefs from the Baal cult of Asia Minor.
"The image is remarkably well preserved. It provides valuable insights into the beliefs of the Romans and into the continued existence of ancient Near Eastern traditions," says the resulting paper. "However, extensive research is necessary before we will be able to accurately identify the deity."
The St. Solomon monastery's ruins are well-preserved and also tell a story of a culture that existed up until the time of the Crusades. Before archaeologists discovered it in 2010, the only proof that it existed, though, was in written sources. Both it and the temple beneath it put together pieces of a puzzle about the history of the area, extending from the early Iron Age to the arrival of the Christian crusaders.
"All finds from this year's excavation season are important pieces of the puzzle, contributing to the knowledge concerning every phase of the long history of this holy place," says archaeologist Dr. Michael Blomer,
Eventually, the ancient site will be a tourist destination. Work is currently underway to make the temple site and ruins accessible to the general public. The preserved ruins are now encased in fleece, drones equipped with 3-D cameras digitally document the area. Officials put up a new visitors' trail, with signs in three languages, that leads to the main site, which is now covered with a protective shelter.
