Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The Danube is a long river in Europe. Right now, the water in the river is very low.
Because the water is low, old things are showing on the riverbed. Archaeologists study these old things.
Near a town called Dunaujvaros in Hungary, archaeologists found a stone altar. The altar is about 1,800 years old.
Long ago, Roman soldiers lived near this river. The altar was made to honor Jupiter, a Roman god.
- river
- a large natural stream of water that flows to the sea
- water level
- how high or low the water is in a river or lake
- riverbed
- the ground at the bottom of a river
- archaeologist
- a scientist who studies old objects and places from the past
- altar
- a table or structure used for religious offerings
- Roman
- relating to ancient Rome and its empire
- soldier
- a person who serves in an army
- god
- a being that people worship as having special power
Level 2 — Elementary
Record low water levels on the Danube River have exposed a limestone altar dedicated to the Roman god Jupiter near the Hungarian town of Dunaujvaros.
Archaeologists from Hungary's Intercisa Museum found the altar during a survey near Szalki Island that began on August 3, along with two pieces of inscribed limestone slabs nearby.
The objects were discovered at the former site of Intercisa, a Roman military settlement that once stood along the frontier of the Roman province of Pannonia.
Altars like this one were often set up by Roman soldiers or officials to fulfill religious vows, and their inscriptions can sometimes reveal names, military units, or dates from centuries ago.
- limestone
- a type of rock often used in ancient buildings and carvings
- expose
- to uncover something that was previously hidden
- survey
- a careful examination or study of an area
- inscribed
- having words or symbols carved into a surface
- settlement
- a place where people establish a community
- frontier
- the outer edge or border of a territory
- province
- a region governed as part of a larger country or empire
- vow
- a serious promise, often made for religious reasons
Level 3 — Intermediate
Extremely low water levels on the Danube River have exposed a Roman altar dedicated to Jupiter near Dunaujvaros, Hungary, a discovery made by archaeologists from the Intercisa Museum during a survey near Szalki Island that began on August 3.
Alongside the limestone altar, researchers recovered two pieces of inscribed stone slabs from the same area, artifacts that had likely remained submerged and hidden from view for a considerable stretch of time before the drought exposed them.
The finds emerged at the former site of Intercisa, a Roman military settlement positioned along the frontier of the province of Pannonia, where a major construction phase of the fort took place around 185 C.E.
Roman altars dedicated to Jupiter were frequently commissioned by soldiers, officials, or private individuals fulfilling religious vows, and their inscriptions can preserve names, military units, or dates; the recovered objects have since been sent to the museum for further study and restoration.
- drought
- a long period of unusually low rainfall that causes water shortages
- submerged
- completely covered by water
- artifact
- an object made by humans, especially one of historical or cultural interest
- construction phase
- a stage in the building or expansion of a structure
- commission
- to formally order or arrange for something to be made
- restoration
- the process of repairing and returning something to its original condition
- fort
- a building or structure fortified for military defense
- considerable
- large in amount, extent, or degree
Level 4 — Advanced
Record breaking low water levels along the Danube have exposed a limestone altar dedicated to Jupiter near Dunaujvaros, Hungary, a discovery credited to archaeologists from the Intercisa Museum during a systematic survey near Szalki Island that commenced on August 3, amid a broader pattern of European rivers relinquishing long submerged relics to an ongoing drought.
Alongside the altar, the team recovered two fragmentary inscribed limestone slabs from the immediate vicinity, artifacts whose extended submersion likely contributed to their preservation even as it kept them concealed from view for an indeterminate span of time.
The discovery site corresponds to the former location of Intercisa, a Roman military settlement anchoring the frontier of the province of Pannonia, where a significant phase of fortification construction is dated to approximately 185 C.E., situating the find within a well documented, if still incompletely excavated, military landscape.
Such Jupiter dedicated altars were characteristically commissioned by soldiers, officials, or private citizens discharging religious vows, and their inscriptions, where legible, can yield onomastic and prosopographic detail, names, military units, and dates, that archaeologists are still working to decipher as the objects undergo formal study and conservation at the museum.
- relinquish
- to give up or release possession of something
- relic
- an object surviving from an earlier time, often of historical significance
- fragmentary
- existing only in broken or incomplete pieces
- preservation
- the act of maintaining something in its original or existing condition
- fortification
- defensive military structures built to protect a location
- onomastic
- relating to the study or origin of proper names
- prosopographic
- relating to the investigation of the identities and relationships of historical individuals
- conservation
- the careful protection and repair of objects to prevent decay
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