Local authorities have announced the uncovering of an ancient Greek altar at the archaeological site of Segesta on the island of Sicily. Over 2,000 years old, the altar was used for family worship during ancient times.

Sicily's regional government said the altar was probably in use at the height of Hellenic cultural influence, just before the rise of the Roman empire in the first century B.C.

It had been buried for centuries by a few centimeters of earth and vegetation in the area of ​​the Southern Acropolis at the Segesta site, which is in the western part of the island.

"The Segesta site never ceases to amaze us," said Sicily's regional culture minister Francesco Paolo Scarpinato.

"Excavations continue to bring to light ... pieces that add new perspectives and interpretations to a site where multiple civilizations are stratified," he said.

Segesta, renowned for its fifth-century-B.C. temple, was an ancient Greek city nestled between mountains.

Apart from the altar, archaeologists also dug out a similar-shaped relic that they believe may have been a support for a sculpture. Both finds are perfectly preserved, the regional government said.