The ruins of an ancient pagan temple under a parking lot in central Italy 70 miles (112.65 km) north of Rome, sheds light on the cultural shift during the transition from Roman imperial theology to Christianity. The structure has been dated to the era of the Roman emperor Constantine, who ruled Rome between 306 and 337 AD, whose reign is marked by being the first Roman emperor to officially convert to Christianity.
The temple was found in Spello, Italy, as part of The Spello Project, an international effort to uncover the lost history of the ancient town formerly known as Hispellum. The announcement was made by Douglas Boin, a history professor at Saint Louis University, during the Archaeological Institute of America meeting in Chicago, according to a press release by Saint-Louis University.
The excavation team, led by Boin, discovered three walls of the monumental structure using underground imaging. The significance of the finding is connected to a concession made by Roman Emperor Constantine during the fourth century. In a letter inscribed in Spello’s Town Hall, Constantine allowed the townspeople to celebrate a religious festival in Spello, which had transformed into a Roman colony in 1st century BC, instead of traveling long distances.
Hellbound and Down 