New archaeological fragments of objects used in imperial life and related to cult rituals emerge from excavations in the Sacred Area of the Archaeological Park of Ancient Ostia. The discovery, following the recovery of two fragments from the Fasti Ostienses that came to light last year, occurred during a recent intervention, implemented with CIPE funds and aimed at the general reorganization of the area for its imminent reopening to the public with the restoration of the temples and the canals for the disposal of rainwater. During the emptying of a well, located in front of the staircase of the Temple of Hercules, about 3 meters deep and still full of water, a conspicuous amount of artifacts dating mostly between the end of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. emerged, very well preserved as they were submerged in a mud that was poor in oxygen. These are ceramics of various types, including miniature ones; oil lamps, fragments of glass containers, marble fragments, burnt animal bones and peach pits, surely used in specific sacred rituals within the archaeological area. The finding of burnt bones primarily confirms that animal sacrifices (pigs and cattle) took place in the sanctuary, while the common pottery, also bearing traces of fire, indicates that meat was cooked and consumed during banquets in honor of the deity. The remains of one or more ritual meals were thrown into the pit, the last ones probably when its function had been discontinued. Among the most significant finds unearthed is an uncommon and strikingly modern worked wooden object in the shape of a funnel or chalice, whose function remains to be elucidated. In addition to the chalice-funnel, decorated with slight incisions and concentric circles on the inside (near the hole that runs through it), other finds were recovered that have "interlocking" moldings and external ribs, resembling reciprocal grafts and altogether referable to a cylindrical element vaguely resembling a tubule. The new finds were discovered in the “Area Sacra”, an important sanctuary that arose from the 3rd century B.C. near the Aqua Salvia spring along the ancient route of the so-called Via della Foce. Within the complex, dominated by the bulk of the Temple of Hercules and occupied by two other minor cult buildings such as the Temple of Tetrastylus (or Aesculapius) and that of the Round Altar, priests predicted the outcome of military expeditions to generals about to leave for military campaigns. It was therefore an oracular cult.
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