HESSE, GERMANY—Live Science reports that a temple dedicated to Mars, the Roman god of war, has been uncovered in Germany’s Taunus Mountains near the site of the Kapersburg Roman Fort. The fort was constructed in the early second century A.D. and was occupied until about A.D. 275. The temple was part of a well-preserved settlement where merchants and military families resided. “Inside the temple, we found several fragments of a dedicatory inscription,” said Kai Mückenberger of the Hesse State Office for Monument Preservation. The inscription revealed that the temple was dedicated to Mars. “We also have the remains of a Mars [statue],” Mückenberger added. A statue of a winged figure holding a palm branch and laurel wreath is thought to depict the Roman goddess Victoria, a personification of victory in battle. To read about an intact first-century A.D. wooden cellar unearthed at the nearby site of Nida, go to "Cleaning Out the Basement."
