Long-lost ancient city built by Trojan War prisoners discovered in Greece

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Ancient city built by Trojan War prisoners discovered in Greece

Archaeologists in Greece believe they have discovered the long-lost remains of Tenea, a city built by Trojan War prisoners.

Archaeologists in Greece have located the remains of a lost city believed to have been settled by captives from the Trojan War.

In a statement released Tuesday Greece’s Culture Ministry said recent excavations in the southern Greek region of the Peloponnese turned up "proof of the existence of the ancient city" of Tenea, until now known mostly from ancient texts.

Excavations took place from September to early October, according to the Ministry. “The work was focused on two main places: the area where an organized cemetery of Hellenistic [ancient Greek] and Roman times extends with adjoining buildings and facilities, and in a second place where, for the first time, residential remains of Ancient Teneas were excavated and excavated,” it said, in its statement.

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Experts uncovered what appear to be homes from the ancient city. “Inside these areas, clay floors, as well as portions of marble and stone floors, were maintained in good condition, while some of the walls were well-crafted and covered with mortar,” the Ministry said.

An artifact uncovered from the Tenea site. (Greek Ministry of Culture)

Finds included household pottery, a bone gaming die and more than 200 coins dating from the 4th century B.C. to late Roman times.

A pottery jar containing the remains of two human fetuses was also found amid the foundations of one building. That was unusual, as the ancient Greeks typically buried their dead in organized cemeteries outside the city walls.

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Relatively little is known about Tenea, apart from ancient references to the reputed link with Troy and to its citizens forming the bulk of the Greek colonists who founded the city of Syracuse in Sicily.

Recent excavations turned up "proof of the existence of the ancient city" (Greek Ministry of Culture)

Lead archaeologist Elena Korka, who has been excavating in the area since 2013, told The Associated Press that her team had only been digging in the rich cemeteries surrounding Tenea until this year. In one, antiquities smugglers dug up two remarkable 6th century B.C. marble statues of young men in 2010 and tried to sell them for 10 million euros.

"This year we excavated part of the city itself," Korka said.

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Excavation work continues on the cemeteries, located near the modern village of Hiliomodi about 60 miles southwest of Athens.

The ancient site is believed to have been settled by prisoners from the Trojan War. (Greek Ministry of Culture)

The discovery is the latest fascinating find from ancient Greece. Researchers, for example, recently discovered what they say is the world’s oldest intact shipwreck at the bottom of the Black Sea. The wreck of the ancient Greek trading vessel was found off the coast of Bulgaria.

Earlier this year experts announced that the oldest known written record of Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey” may have been found at the ancient site of Olympia in Greece.

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In a separate project, researchers also recently revealed details of an ancient ‘pyramid’ on the uninhabited Greek island of Keros.

Last year, DNA research shed new light on the mysterious ancient Minoan civilization on the island of Crete and their counterparts on the Greek mainland, the Mycenaeans.

Fox News’ Chris Ciaccia contributed to this article.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers