Spain: Archaeologists claim they’ve located site of lost Temple of Hercules Gaditanus

The temple of Hercules, which was a place of worship in Antiquity is now in southern Spain, indicates the ancient accounts, however, the exact location of the temple has long been unknown. Now the researchers in Spain claim that they have uncovered the remnants of that famous temple in a small inlet in the Bay of Cádiz, as per the reports of Smithsonian. The researchers discovered a nearly 1,000-foot-long and 500-foot-wide structure that can only be seen at low tide using digital terrain modelling.

According to El Pais, Francisco José Garca, who is an archaeologist at the University of Seville stated that it is a big deal and remarked the discovery as a spectacle. Last month, Garca and Ricardo Belizón Aragón, researchers of the University of Seville, presented their findings at the Underwater Archaeology Center of the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage. The survey showed a submerged building that matched ancient accounts of the temple, which is named after the mythical hero Hercules.

Archaeologists will explore the area

The archaeologists will explore the area and the data they have in order to look into the past and identify the chronology. Ricardo Belizón Aragón stated that their goal is to track the paleo landscape (landscape as it was in ancient times) back 3,000 years in an area that has been heavily influenced by marine oscillations, according to the London Times. He also stated that the team discovered a completely anthropized coast with a massive building. It was in the eighth or ninth century B.C.E. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, this was a major pilgrimage site.

The Greek Mythology suggests that Hercules was the son of Zeus, the God-ruler of Mount Olympus. He was a powerful demigod who defended his people from a slew of monsters. Antonio Monterroso-Checa, an archaeological professor at the University of Cordoba, published a paper in 2020 indicating that the temple was built in the San Fernando district, south of the Cádiz coastline, according to Artnet.

Not only the possible temple of Hercules

Modelling of the ancient Cádiz coastline has revealed not only the possible temple of Hercules but also an inner harbour or dock south of the temple, which was a flood zone until less than two centuries ago. It also discovered various buildings, mostly from the Roman period, which has yet to be identified.

(Image: Pixabay)