Ancient Helmets, Temple Ruins Found at Dig in Southern Italy

Ancient Helmets, Temple Ruins Found at Dig in Southern Italy
Italian Culture minister Dario Franceschini arrives for a roundtable of the G20 Culture Ministers meeting at Palazzo Barberini Museum in Rome, on July 30, 2021. Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:

ROME—Archaeologists in southern Italy have discovered ancient warrior helmets and the ruins of a painted brick wall at a site that might have been a forerunner of a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, officials said Tuesday.

Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the remains dug up at the popular tourist site of Velia were found on what had been an acropolis of one of Magna Graecia’s most important cities. Velia is 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Paestum, a much-visited site of ancient Greek temples.