Scanning lasers, ghost shrines appear at the bottom of the bay

The great ancient pilgrimage center - the temple of Hercules Gaditanus mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman records - has suddenly appeared in laser scans of the Bay of Cádiz, Spain.

According to Heritage Daily, the legendary temple was discovered when a joint research team between the University of Seville and the Institute of Andalusian Historical Heritage (IAPH) used LiDAR, a laser remote sensing technique, to scan the Bay of Cádiz.

LiDAR imaging reveals hidden structures

They recognized a large rectangular structure submerged under water that Dr Francisco José Gacía, director of the University of Seville's Department of Prehistory and Archeology, described to El Pais as a "spectacular find".

Compare with precious historical documents, bearing the color of legends from ancient Greco-Roman times.

Another underwater structure discovered before

According to Ancient Origins, the temple was originally used to worship the Phoenician god Melqart. The Phoenicians were famous merchants and sailors of antiquity, who lived on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and built magnificent cities. Sometime after 800 BC, they made their way to Andalusia in Southern Spain and settled, which is why the temple appeared here.

The Romans conquered Andalusia between 210 and 206 BC, establishing the Roman province of Baetica. The famous temple mentioned above and the god Melqart "transformed" into the ancient god Hercules, and the temple became the temple of Hercules Gaditanus, attracting even more pilgrims than before.

The site of the ancient sanctuary has now become a marshland, and over the past two centuries, a number of artifacts such as large bronze and marble statues of Roman emperors, small artifacts from the Phoenician period have been unearthed one after another. dig.

The structure this time is a rectangle 300 meters long, 150 meters wide, submerged 3-5 meters deep at the bottom of the bay, matching the description of the famous temple.