Tag: Italy
1,600-Year-Old Church in Altino May Explain Venice’s Origins
Archaeologists have identified a large ancient church in Altino, northern Italy. The building dates to the late fourth or early fifth century AD. Its discovery may help explain how the communities around…
Underground Aqueduct in Italy Reveals Water Engineering Before Rome
Long before Rome became famous for its aqueducts, communities in central Italy were already carving water systems into solid rock. A newly documented underground aqueduct in the Sabine Hills offers a closer…
The Smell of the Greco Romans: Statues were Scented, New Study Finds
For those of you who watched the recent sequel to Gladiator, imaginatively named Gladiator II, firstly you have our sympathies. Whatever that mess was, it was closer to ill-conceived fantasy than a…
How Did a Volcano Turn This Roman’s Brain to Glass?
In 79 AD the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by an enormous volcanic eruption. The devastation caused by the eruption of Vesuvius went on for two days, burying the…
Ancient Necropolis Discovery in Trento Dates to the Founding of Rome
Archaeologists working in the Santa Croce area of Trento in northern Italy have found something exceptional beneath the city streets. An ancient necropolis has been discovered, some eight meters beneath the surface. …
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science: Scroll from Herculaneum is Read from Within
Some of the finds from the cities destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius are ruined beyond restoration. Much was preserved but the destruction was immense, and the greater part of the contents…