Archaeologists excavating an ancient sanctuary in southern Italy have uncovered an inscription bearing the Doric form of Athena’s name, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare. The inscription, ASANAS, was found at Caselle in Pittari, an ancient Lucanian settlement inland from the Gulf of Policastro in the province of Salerno. Researchers identified the name as the Doric designation for Athena.
The find is part of a much larger collection of inscriptions discovered during excavations at the sanctuary. Together, the texts name eight deities and provide new evidence about religious life among the Italic communities of pre-Roman southern Italy.
What Is Doric Ancient Greek?
Doric was one of the major dialects of ancient Greek, spoken in regions including the Peloponnese, Crete and parts of the Greek colonies in southern Italy and Sicily. Ancient Greek was not a single uniform language, but included several regional dialects, such as Ionic, Aeolic and Attic, the dialect of Athens.
Doric name of Athena emerges among inscriptions
Other inscriptions have been linked to Ceres, Jupiter and Anter Stata. Researchers also found references to nymphs connected to rain and spring water.
The Athena inscription adds a notable Greek element to a sanctuary rooted in the Italic world. Southern Italy had centuries of contact between Indigenous Italic communities and Greek settlements. The region became home to numerous Greek colonies in what became known as Magna Graecia.
Archaeologists excavating an ancient sanctuary in southern Italy have discovered ASANAS, the Doric form of the name of Greek goddess Athena.
The inscription was found alongside texts naming seven other deities, offering new insight into religion in pre-Roman Italy. #Archaeology pic.twitter.com/MX16zwRIcH
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) September 30, 2026
Athena also held an important place in Greek religious life elsewhere in southern Italy. At nearby ancient Velia, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a sanctuary dedicated to Athena, including weapons, helmets, and hundreds of votive objects.
Sanctuary provides rare ritual context
The Caselle inscriptions are particularly valuable because archaeologists uncovered them within clearly defined areas used for rituals. The sanctuary was arranged across two terraces and included features believed to have served religious purposes. This archaeological setting allows researchers to examine the inscriptions alongside the spaces where worship took place.
Several of the deities identified at Caselle were previously known mainly through the Tablet of Agnone, an important bronze inscription documenting Italic religious traditions. The new evidence gives researchers another setting in which to study those beliefs. Similar discoveries in Italy are also expanding knowledge of religious life before Roman rule.
Discovery sheds light on pre-Roman southern Italy
The University of Salerno has conducted systematic research at Caselle since 2014. The latest excavations were carried out by its “Mario Napoli” Laboratory of Classical Archaeology under authorization from Italy’s Ministry of Culture. University researcher Antonia Serritella said the inscriptions open new possibilities for understanding the complexity of the Italic world.
The settlement itself developed around the middle of the fourth century B.C. and expanded through the following decades before being abandoned around the end of the third century B.C. Researchers say the new inscriptions provide an unusual opportunity to study how religion, language and ritual developed within a Lucanian community living in the culturally diverse landscape of pre-Roman southern Italy.
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