Temple of Hercules Gaditanus

A Phoenician sanctuary founded after 800 BC near ancient Gadir (modern Cadiz), originally dedicated to the Tyrian god Melqart. Under Roman rule it became the Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, one of the most important sanctuaries in the Western Mediterranean, visited by Hannibal in 220 BC and Julius Caesar. In 2021, researchers using LiDAR identified a submerged rectangular structure measuring 300 by 150 meters in the Bay of Cadiz near Castillo Sancti Petri, believed to be the lost temple. Ancient sources describe it as a columned temple with an eternal flame and bronze reliefs depicting the twelve labours of Hercules.