Valruzia

[Aethan]

Possible remains of an ancient and gigantic temple found in Gryfitów

Research led by Nowogard University locates with new technology the remains of a large ancient structure in the waters surrounding the capital of the Voviodeship of Gryfitów, formerly above sea level

January 5647

Top left, the part of the current city of Gryfitów; down left, main structures and terrain transformations detected in the area of the current waters of the Gryfitów channel from the analysis of the images, with temple location in the red circle; right: location of Gryfitów within Valruzia.

---

The mysterious Temple of Arwyj, known as Mamors to the Selucians, was the most iconic and frequented sanctuary of Valruzia in antiquity, during what experts believe was a deeply frequented Selucian colony outpost in Northern Seleya. Selucian generals sailed there to pray to the god before launching a military campaign in the continent, and it is written that a number of statues of famous soldiers and heroes were present in its corridors. Its fame stems from classical texts describing these dramatic episodes and its grandeur, but not from surviving the passage of time. At a certain date, it is believed that the sea reclaimed it and engulfed it with its arms, leaving now its exact location for debate for decades, if not centuries. 

Now, new research may have solved one of Valruzia’s great archaeological mysteries. A newly developed remote sensing radar study conducted by Aleksy Pogoda (a PhD candidate) and his professor Paweł Woźnicki, from the University of Nowogard’s Department of Valruzian Prehistory and Archaeology have managed to discover and document mysterious and uncatalogued ancient structures in an area between the Gryfitów peninsula and the part of the city located in the continental landmass. And according to their findings, these remains could well belong to the Temple of Mamors-Arwyj.

The study began with Pogoda's interest in reconstructing the ancient landscape of this area, long known for discoveries like Selucian and Deltarian votive offerings, marble sculptures and commerce outposts, as well as occasional battles between both competing colonizers. The new collected data from the research was combined with digital terrain models from Valruzia's National Geographic Institute and existing archaeological records (primarily submerged artifacts from Selucia, Deltaria and Aldegar found in the Gryfitów channel). Today, Gryfitów is Valruzia's fourth largest city with over 3 million citizens, and it is considered an important port for goods and ships travelling from south to north and from items coming from the Majatran and Artanian continents to cross through the North Seleyan territory.

Experts agree that during Valruzia's pre-colonial history the region was dominated by the Zuman tribes (OOC: Turko-Mongols) and occasionally ruled by the different Aldegarian empires, before the national territory entered in its colonial era when Selucia and Deltaria established the first and competing colonial outposts, eventually to be overrun by Endralon during the early modern era. After this, Endralon established the nation as a settler colony, with mostly Zergonese people (OOC: Slovaks) settling in, eventually in time becoming what is no known as the Valruzian people

Subsequent non-invasive surveys, conducted in collaboration with Gryfit’s Underwater Archaeology Centre, came to reveal even more: potential ports, large buildings, and a possible enclosed dock, all of it now underwater, suggesting a Selucian-era settlement as large as those located in its own nation. And this newly identified structure, submerged 3–5 meters deep, measures 350 meters long and 200 meters wide, which would become the largest religious temple located in Valruzia and one of the largest in Seleya's ancient history.

The discovery, presented at a press conference with academic and political authorities, aligns with descriptions by ancient writers like Lysimachus and Sulpicio, who used to talk about a temple "embodied in the finest of marbles, located in the far-east, reminiscent of home". However, some researchers prefer to call for caution before jumping to final conclusions: "We are scientists. Time and further research will confirm if this is truly the temple" said Pogoda and Woźnicki, noting that years of interdisciplinary work are still needed, especially with the located structure being underwater, for which subaquatic surveys and paleoenvironmental analysis will still be needed.

However, this discovery is indeed a cornerstone in understanding Valruzia's ancient history, and if confirmed, it could become Valruzia's discovery of the century. The government of Szymon Nowik has already sent an invitation to the Selucian government and authorities in case they want to get involved with the research around the temple.