At Rossano di Vaglio, in inland Lucania, from the mid-Fourth Century BCE a sanctuary was erected to the goddess Mefitis, a deity associated with the celestial and chthonic dimensions, with fertility and with rites of passage. She was particularly venerated in the Osco-Samnite area, in the countryside, woods and where there was water. Possibly of ethnic significance for the Lucanians, the sanctuary was monumentalized from the end of the Third Century onwards. In its final form it had a courtyard structure with a large altar, surrounded on three sides by porticos and rooms. One of these contained the sprig of laurel, possibly the aspergillum of the statue of the goddess.
A great quantity of coins, inscriptions in Oscan, Greek and Latin, and votive objects – many of which are in terracotta – have been unearthed at the sanctuary. On display here are some female figures, specifically protomes or busts (a partial representation of the figure, alluding to an ascent from the underground of the goddess) and an assortment of clay fruit of unparalleled variety which is representative of all the varieties so far discovered in this area. The reproduction of natural elements, this time in bronze, extends to the leaves as well.
Another level of attendance at the site can be reconstructed from the episema and by the precious belt wrought in gold and silver, whose depictions of Helios recall the images on the coins minted by Alexander Molossus in Italy.