Angela
Elite member
- Messages
- 21,823
- Reaction score
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- Points
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- Ethnic group
- Italian
See:
http://www.it/20151124/italy-roadworks-unearth-frescoed-roman-room
Routine roadworks to install a gas pipeline under a busy street in central Rome have brought to light a 2000-year-old room plastered with frescoes.
"The partial discovery of the room has excited archaeologists who have dated the find to the first century AD, based on the depth at which it was found and the pictures speleologists took of the frescoes.
“Finding a room under the street is rare,” the archaeologist responsible for the newly discovered site, Mirella Serlorenzi, told The Local.
“We do get archaeological finds from between 60 and 50 percent of all roadworks though."
The area around the site once belonged to the luxurious Emperor's gardens known as the Horti Lamiani, which is the place where Julius Ceasar was partially cremated and buried.
In the first century AD the area comprised a complex of luxurious villas, gardens and pavilions. Archaeologists are hoping the new find will prove to be of considerable historical interest."
I can't make out the design.
Even more exciting in my view is the discovery in September of an entire domus or house from the 6th century BC.
See:
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/date/2015/09/13
"The remains of a home from the early 6th century B.C. discovered under a palazzo on the Quirinal Hill indicate the archaic city of Rome was much larger than previously thought. Built during the putative reign of legendary sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius (578–535 B.C.), it is one of the most ancient homes ever found in Rome and is uniquely well preserved."
"The domus was built on a rectangular floor plan 3.5 by 10 meters (11.5 by 33 feet) with was divided into two rooms. The entry point was probably an attached porch. The foundation of the home was tufa, a soft volcanic stone Romans used to build everything from temples to the Cloaca Maxima. The walls were wood covered in clay plaster and about 10 feet tall; the roof was tile."
"“The position of the house near the temple hints at it being a sacred area, and that whoever lived there was watching over what happened therein. But it is even more important that we can now retro-date the urbanization of the Quirinal zone. The Servian Walls encircled an area that was already inhabited and not a necropolis.” “This means that Rome at the beginning of the sixth century was much larger than what we expected and not closed in around the Forum,”"
I also found this intriguing:
"Underneath the temple remains was found the skeleton of a newborn infant dating to the 7th century B.C"
I hope someone is testing those bones.
This is from a slightly later period, but the basic design is the same.
And then this:
http://www.it/20151124/italy-roadworks-unearth-frescoed-roman-room
Routine roadworks to install a gas pipeline under a busy street in central Rome have brought to light a 2000-year-old room plastered with frescoes.
"The partial discovery of the room has excited archaeologists who have dated the find to the first century AD, based on the depth at which it was found and the pictures speleologists took of the frescoes.
“Finding a room under the street is rare,” the archaeologist responsible for the newly discovered site, Mirella Serlorenzi, told The Local.
“We do get archaeological finds from between 60 and 50 percent of all roadworks though."
The area around the site once belonged to the luxurious Emperor's gardens known as the Horti Lamiani, which is the place where Julius Ceasar was partially cremated and buried.
In the first century AD the area comprised a complex of luxurious villas, gardens and pavilions. Archaeologists are hoping the new find will prove to be of considerable historical interest."
I can't make out the design.
Even more exciting in my view is the discovery in September of an entire domus or house from the 6th century BC.
See:
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/date/2015/09/13
"The remains of a home from the early 6th century B.C. discovered under a palazzo on the Quirinal Hill indicate the archaic city of Rome was much larger than previously thought. Built during the putative reign of legendary sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius (578–535 B.C.), it is one of the most ancient homes ever found in Rome and is uniquely well preserved."
"The domus was built on a rectangular floor plan 3.5 by 10 meters (11.5 by 33 feet) with was divided into two rooms. The entry point was probably an attached porch. The foundation of the home was tufa, a soft volcanic stone Romans used to build everything from temples to the Cloaca Maxima. The walls were wood covered in clay plaster and about 10 feet tall; the roof was tile."
"“The position of the house near the temple hints at it being a sacred area, and that whoever lived there was watching over what happened therein. But it is even more important that we can now retro-date the urbanization of the Quirinal zone. The Servian Walls encircled an area that was already inhabited and not a necropolis.” “This means that Rome at the beginning of the sixth century was much larger than what we expected and not closed in around the Forum,”"
I also found this intriguing:
"Underneath the temple remains was found the skeleton of a newborn infant dating to the 7th century B.C"
I hope someone is testing those bones.
This is from a slightly later period, but the basic design is the same.
And then this:
I would add glazed windows to the rooms in the perimeter, however. 
