Ancient Roman fountain in Italy hid dozens of artifacts: Photos

For almost two thousand years, a stone well sat in front of the steps of an ancient Roman temple in Italy. The ancient well wasn’t as attention-grabbing as its surroundings, but still hid a secret treasure trove — until now.

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Archaeologists excavated the roughly 10-foot-deep well in Ostia Antica, an archaeological park on the outskirts of Rome, as part of a restoration project, Italy’s Ministry of Culture said in a June 5 news release.

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A photo shows a worker being lowered into the ancient well. At the bottom, they sorted through the mud and uncovered dozens of artifacts from 1,800 years ago, officials said.

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The most unique artifact was a wooden funnel or chalice-like object with an unknown purpose, archaeologists said. A photo shows the rare dark brown item.

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The well also contained several interlocking wooden items, officials said. Archaeologists suspect these fragments were once a tube or something similar.

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Archaeologists found broken glass containers, marble fragments, pottery pieces and burnt bones in the well. A photo shows some of these artifacts, which mostly date between roughly 50 A.D. and 200 A.D., officials said.

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The burnt bones were identified as animal sacrifices from an ancient temple ritual, archaeologists said. The animals, probably pigs or cattle, were likely cooked and eaten during a ceremonial banquet. The leftovers were later thrown into the well.

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The well sits near a temple complex built in the third century B.C., archaeologists said. The complex is dominated by a temple for Hercules but also has other cult buildings. The temple’s activity centered around oracles and efforts to predict the future.

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Archaeologists plan to continue studying the ancient wooden artifacts found in the well, officials said.

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Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Italy’s Ministry of Culture.

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