A sanctuary from the Hellenistic-Roman era rich in votive material, found in the territory of the municipality of Ponte, in the province of Benevento, evidence of a cult and rituals that marked the most important moments in the lives of the individuals who lived in the area.
This was presented today in the Paleontological Hall of the Benevento Operations Centre of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Caserta and Benevento, during the inauguration of the temporary archaeological exhibition 'Journey into the Sacred.
The discovery of the Ponte sanctuary along the new Naples-Bari high-speed/high-capacity line. The exhibition, curated by the Superintendency of Benevento, features the artifacts unearthed during construction work to double the Telese-Vitulano line.
With the construction of the new Naples-Bari AV/AC line, in fact, the FS Group is giving citizens back an unprecedented cultural heritage, in a dialogue between progress and historical roots that shows how the construction sites of large railway infrastructure works can be transformed into a window onto the past.
The sanctuary discovered in Ponte, with its architectural complexity and the wealth of votive material found, seems to be dedicated to deities connected to the sphere of healing (sanatio), fertility of the land and animals and/or motherhood. Its discovery has offered a new historical interpretation of the cultural customs of the region, before and during the Romanization of Sannio.
Among the exhibits on display, in the presence of representatives of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Italferr (FS Group) and of the Superintendencies of Caserta and Benevento and of the Naples Metropolitan Area, are depictions of divinities linked to initiatory rites, statuettes depicting young devout women and male figures of warriors.
Also on display are a model of a terracotta temple intended to house offerings, votive materials representing anatomical parts, ceramic artifacts, and coins. "This is the first exhibition we've inaugurated to bring the history that the territories of this new line tell us back to the public," said Mariano Nuzzo, Superintendent of the Naples Metropolitan Area and for the provinces of Caserta and Benevento.
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We also considered a younger audience with panels dedicated to them: the recent construction of forward-looking infrastructures becomes an opportunity for new historical discoveries that enrich the knowledge and consolidate the culture of the new generations.
We will organize further outreach events, a task to be accomplished through cooperation between institutions, with other Superintendencies and with the FS Group, always with the important collaboration of the Ministry of Culture."
A memorandum of understanding was also signed between RFI and the Superintendencies of Caserta and Benevento and the Naples Metropolitan Area. The aim of the memorandum is to define a joint strategy for the valorization and promotion of discoveries related to the Naples-Bari route.
The agreed-upon activities include further steps to disseminate knowledge of the discoveries to the surrounding areas: a permanent exhibition on the Roman villa of Solopaca will be held at the Benevento Operations Center; the Calatia-Maddaloni Archaeological Museum will host a display of a burial site dating back to the Campanian culture, discovered on the Cancello-Frasso Telesino route; and finally, in Ponte, several wall structures pertaining to the Hellenistic-Roman sanctuary unearthed in this area will be reassembled.
Information panels will also be installed at the new stations in Acerra, Valle di Maddaloni, Ponte-Casalduni, and Solopaca.
The commitment of the FS Group and its companies continues with the activities of Archeolog, the Group's third-sector organization that brings together Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italferr, and Anas. Archeolog, in collaboration with the Superintendencies of the Ministry of Culture, aims to contribute to the restoration, conservation, and valorization of the precious archaeological finds unearthed during the construction and maintenance of Italy's road and rail infrastructure. Archeolog has decided to undertake the restoration of a metal alloy statuette of Hercules, dating back to the 2nd century BC and discovered near the sanctuary of Ponte. In the Samnite context, this mythological figure is associated with the agricultural and pastoral world, as a protective deity of flocks and springs, dedicated to ensuring trade and pacts.
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