A small gold plaque discovered at the Roman fort of Apsaros (Ancient Greek: Ἄψαρος) in present-day Georgia has provided the first direct written evidence that Jupiter (Zeus) Dolichenus was worshipped at the military settlement. Apsaros stood in the ancient kingdom of Colchis, where Greek colonies flourished along the Black Sea coast from the 6th century BC.
Archaeologists uncovered the inscribed object during the 2024 season of the Polish-Georgian Archaeological Expedition. The Greek inscription names both the deity and the man who dedicated the offering, giving researchers their first clear proof that the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus had reached one of Rome’s eastern Black Sea forts.
Researchers described the discovery in the journal Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik.
Gold offering identifies the deity
The artifact is made of gold and shaped like a stylized leaf. Ancient craftsmen produced it using the repoussé technique, creating a raised design by hammering the metal from the reverse. Its Greek inscription states that a man named Thrasymedes dedicated the offering to the “Dolichenian God.”
The use of Greek is not unusual. Greek served as the main language of much of the eastern Roman Empire, including the Black Sea region, where Greek communities, trade, and culture had flourished for centuries before the Romans established the fort.
The title refers to Jupiter Dolichenus, a Roman deity whose cult developed from the worship of a storm god in the ancient city of Doliche in Commagene, near present-day Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey.
A tiny gold plaque discovered at the Roman fort of Apsaros in Georgia has revealed the first written evidence that Jupiter Dolichenus was worshipped at the military site.
The Greek inscription names both the deity and the man who dedicated the offering nearly 2,000 years ago. pic.twitter.com/9B1J1cAApF— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) July 15, 2026
Artists typically portrayed the god wearing military armor while standing on a bull and holding a thunderbolt and a double axe. His worship spread widely across the Roman Empire during the second and third centuries A.D., especially among soldiers.
Although archaeologists had previously recovered objects linked to Jupiter Dolichenus at Apsaros, none carried an inscription identifying the deity. The newly discovered plaque provides the first direct epigraphic evidence that his cult was established at the fort.
Finds connected to the god are common across many western Roman provinces, but discoveries from the empire’s eastern frontier remain relatively rare.
Inscription offers a personal connection
The inscription also gives the discovery a personal dimension. Written in Greek, it identifies the donor as Thrasymedes, a Greek name that was uncommon during the Roman period.
Researchers do not yet know where he came from, what military rank he held, or what role he served at Apsaros. They also cannot determine whether he was of Greek origin or belonged to one of the Greek-speaking communities of the eastern Roman Empire.
Even so, the inscription preserves the act of devotion of an individual who had the means to commission an expensive gold offering.
Nearby discoveries point to a possible shrine
The plaque was not the only object linked to the cult. Archaeologists also uncovered a bronze figurine of an eagle perched on a bull near the same location. Both animals are closely associated with Jupiter Dolichenus.
Together, the discoveries suggest that a shrine or dedicated place of worship may once have existed inside the fort. However, no temple associated with the deity has yet to be conclusively identified.
Roman fort guarded a strategic frontier
Apsaros, now known as Gonio, stands near the mouth of the Chorokhi River on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, about 9 miles (15 kilometers) south of Batumi. The Romans established the fort during the first century A.D. to guard an important route linking the coast with the inland Caucasus.
The site’s military importance was recorded by the Roman governor Arrian, himself a Greek historian and philosopher from Nicomedia, who visited Apsaros during the second century A.D. He reported that five military cohorts were stationed there and described inspecting the soldiers, weapons, fortifications, and supplies.
Nearly 2,000 years after Thrasymedes made his dedication, the gold plaque has given that military community a recognizable human voice.
More importantly, it provides the first written confirmation that the worship of Jupiter Dolichenus had reached one of Rome’s most strategic forts on the eastern Black Sea frontier, where Roman military traditions and Greek language and culture intersected.
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