In the rugged coastal hills of Liguria, excavators have discovered 'silver-laced' ceramic saffron jars within a 4th-century BC sanctuary. These vessels are believed to be the primary ritual tools for the 'Festival of the Coastal Mist', a pre-Roman tradition dedicated to the protection of maritime shepherds. The jars still contain traces of Crocus ligusticus, a native saffron variety, which was mixed with sea salt and scattered as an offering.
This finding sheds new light on the sacred botany of the Iron Age Ligurians and their unique ritual calendar, which focused on the transition between the mountain and the sea. The silver filigree on the jars suggests that the festival was not merely a local folk event but a highly formal state-sponsored religious ceremony.