Archaeologists in southern Italy have discovered ancient warrior helmets and the ruins of a painted brick wall that may have been part of a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, officials said.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the remains were unearthed at the popular archaeological site of Velia, the site of a former ancient city in the Greater Greece area that was settled by the Greeks in the eighth century BC.
The site of Velija is located 40 kilometers southeast of the remains of the ancient city of Paestum, known for its Greek temples.
The recently completed excavation in Velia revealed a pair of helmets in good condition, the remains of a building, vases with the Greek inscription for "sacred" and metal parts of objects that could be weapons, the Ministry of Culture announced.
State Museums Director Massimo Osana, who has long directed excavations at the archaeological site of Pompeii, said the area explored in Velia likely contains relics of offerings to Athena, the mythological Greek goddess of war and wisdom, after a key naval battle in the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea.
Velia is also known as the home of the ancient Greek school of philosophy, to which Parmenides and Zeno belong.
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