"The lake was basically an open votive deposit. The Latin-speaking people who lived there offered their ceramic artifacts to a deity probably connected to the spring. We believe that a 7th to 6th century B.C. sanctuary can be found at its bottom," Stefano De Caro, director of archaeology at the Italian Culture Ministry, said. Symbolic of storage and cooking vessels that were used in daily life, the miniature jars may have contained food, liquid offerings and perfumes that were dedicated to the lake deity. "The Laghetto del Monsignore is a most important open-air sanctuary where the Latin peoples living in the surrounding areas dedicated offerings from the early Iron Age onward. It is of the utmost importance that the looted material be studied by specialists, and it is hoped that a regular excavation will be started to save what is left of this unique find," Peter A.J. Attema, director of the Pontine Region Project and professor in classical and Mediterranean archaeology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, told Discovery News. Attema and colleagues from the University of Groningen carried out intensive surveys around the lake, but found no trace of the tiny ceramic jars. "We noticed that the area had already been illegally plundered. I congratulate this prompt action to save the looted material for further study," Attema said. Related Links: |
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