WARSAW, POLAND—Newsweek reports that Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski of the University of Warsaw and his colleagues have unearthed a gold votive plaque at the Roman fort of Apsaros, a port on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the country of Georgia. The thin gold plate is inscribed in Greek with a dedication to Jupiter Dolichenus, a deity who was a combination of the Roman god Jupiter and a storm and fertility deity from southeastern Turkey. The presence of the plaque suggests that there was a local temple dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, who is known to have been worshipped by soldiers at many garrisons. “This is indicated by a number of other small finds but this last one is of particular significance,” Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski explained. The team will continue to search for a possible temple in the area of the fort. “We hope that further research will not only find the temple of Jupiter of Dolichenus at Apsaros, but also confirm that Oriental influence spread west and north to many garrisons, including through soldiers periodically stationed at Apsaros,” he said. To read about a bronze hand associated with worship of Jupiter Dolichenus that was uncovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, go to “Hand of God.”
