ROME, ITALY—According to a report in The Art Newspaper, well-preserved pottery, burned animal bones, a wooden chalice or funnel, peach pits, oil lamps, and marble fragments have been recovered from waterlogged soil in an ancient well at the Temple of Hercules in Ostia Antica, the site of ancient Rome’s port at the mouth of the Tiber River. The objects found in the 10-foot-deep shaft have been dated to the first and second centuries B.C. Burn marks on the bones suggest that the animals may have been sacrificed, cooked, and eaten during temple banquets. “These finds are a direct testament of the ritual activity that took place at the sanctuary,” said Alessandro D’Alessio of Ostia Antica Archaeological Park. He thinks that the carved wooden chalice or funnel may have been used as a pipe or musical instrument. “Refined objects like this are rare given that wood usually deteriorates,” D’Alessio explained. The objects will be restored and displayed at the site museum. To read about marble fragments of a Roman document unearthed in Ostia, go to “Imperial Datebook.”
