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archaeologist uncovered a Au votive oblation to a war god while excavating a 1,800 - year - quondam Roman fort in the country of Georgia .
" This tenuous plate , encipher in Greek , was a dedication to Jupiter Dolichenus , a immortal peculiarly revered by romish soldier , " the Polish - Georgian archaeological squad wrote in astatement , calling it " unique . "
While excavating the Gonio-Apsaros Fortress in the country of Georgia, archaeologists found a votive gold offering (left inset) and the remains of a mosaic, a reconstruction of which is seen here.
" He was the god of war and victory,“Natalia Lockley , an archeologist at the University of Warsaw ’s and the deputy head of the Polish side of the expedition , told Live Science in an email .
The god ’s name blend the Roman god Jupiter — " the god of the sky , storm and lightning , " Lockley say — with Dolichenus , a immortal associated with thunder whose fad was base at the metropolis of Doliche in what is now Turkey . The cult of Jupiter Dolichenus " spread throughout theRoman Empire , reaching a bill of popularity between the 1st and third 100 AD , " Lockley say .
There is likely a sanctuary to Jupiter Dolichenus at the Roman military site , known as the Gonio - Apsaros Fortress , that has not yet been find , and archaeologists hope to find it in future season , according to the statement . It ’s possible that soldiers intended to tender the gold artefact to the god at this sanctuary perhaps by placing it on a wall or an Lord’s table , Lockley said .
A digital reconstruction of the house where the garrison commander likely lived.(Image credit: Radoslaw Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski and Mateusz Osiadacz)
Related:‘Sensational discovery ' of 2,000 - year - old papistic military camp found hidden in the Swiss Alps
In the ancient world , the great unwashed often made votive offering to deities . Sometimes people would make them in the hope that the deity will interfere and avail them in some way . A votive offering to Jupiter Dolichenus might have been made in the hope that it will help achieve triumph in fight .
Mosaics, kilns and a winepress
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The remains of amphorae at the site.(Image credit: Marcin Matera)
The team made other find at the fort , admit the stiff of a mosaic in a house that was likely used by the commander of the Roman garrison . The newfound mosaic belike draw a geometrical motif , but " due to the across-the-board scathe to the new mosaic , we are still analysing and piecing together its pattern , " Lockley said , noting that some of its fragments show red and pink pedigree on a blanched background .
The squad also get the remains of a winepress and kiln that were used for firing amphorae , clayware vessel that were sometimes used to store wine-colored . These finds suggest that wine was made there and was possibly exported to other site .
The remains of the 1,800-year-old mosaic archaeologists found at the site.(Image credit: Radoslaw Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski )
