From the Roman fort of Apsaros, archaeologists have found a small, golden votive plaque dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, a deity with deep roots in the Roman military, though the true origins were in the Eastern provinces! An example of Roman military practices of the soldiers on the Empire’s eastern borders nearly two millennia ago, the fort has been an archaeological hotspot since 2014.
The archaeologists from a joint Polish-Georgian team are led by Dr. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski of the University of Warsaw and Dr. Lasha Aslanishvili of the Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Adjara, as per a press announcement by The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw.
Attempt to reconstruct the garrison commander’s house in Apsaros. (Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski i Mateusz Osiadacz/PCMA)
A Golden Discovery: A Functional Place of Worship
The Apsaros fort is located in what is now Gonio near Batumi in western Georgia. Built nearly 2,000-years-ago, Apsaros helped secure the coastal route between Colchis (modern western Georgia) and the Roman provinces of Asia Minor.
The current discovery of the gold plaque, a hand-sized artifact bearing embossed decorations and a Greek inscription, confirms the presence of a cult dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, a deity especially revered among Roman troops far from home.
Photo of the gold votive plaque just after its discovery. (Natalia Lockley/PCMA)
“It confirms the functioning of the find, place of worship, temple dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus in the immediate vicinity. It is a deity that differs from Jupiter Capitoline, the official Roman deity. The roots of Jupiter Dolichenus’ worship date back to the east, the borderland of modern Syria and Turkey. It was a local deity, which for reasons not fully explained to us, became popular in the Roman military environment,” said Dr. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczipiorski, quoted by Science in Poland.
Dr. Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski also noted the rarity of discovering such an intact golden object, suggesting that while gold was rarely used in everyday military contexts, reserves were likely stored and kept in case of emergencies. “This does not mean that the garrison or officers did not have financial reserves in gold,” he explained.
In fact, Gonio is already famous for its gold cache discovered in the 1970s. Probably, the garrison here held financial reserves and valued religious symbols. Archaeologists also found small bronze figurines depicting bulls and eagles, symbolic of Jupiter Dolichenus and broader religious practices and iconography at the site.
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Fragments of a mosaic floor secured in situ at the site. (Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski/PCMA)
A Site of Major Wine Production: Amphoras Galore
The team was also surprised to find several amphoras, some abandoned in kilns before they were ever finished. Four ovens, with signs of a fifth one nearby, indicates that this was a site of major wine production, prior to occupation by soldiers. It’s likely that a network of large-scale pottery and wine production existed here to take advantage of Gonio’s proximity to the coast. Researchers speculate that this industry may have been forcibly shut down when the military returned, leaving these vessels abandoned in the kiln.
Part of the furnace filled with amphorae. (Marcin Matera/PCMA)
“We suspect that when another garrison arrived, he removed craftsmen who probably had to build more stoves somewhere outside the new fort built from scratch. For some reason, however, they were no longer allowed to finish these amphoras. You can see that they were unburned, their production process was not finished,” described the archaeologist.
Meanwhile, work continued on the colorful mosaics at Arrian’s House, the former residence of the garrison commander. Conservation experts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, led by Dr. Julia Burdajewicz, have moved the most delicate pieces to a museum, while securing the rest of the third mosaic on site.