Of all the old saws about the Eternal City, at least one remains simply true: dig a deep hole almost anywhere here, and you'll unearth an archeological artifact or two.
Yet a wave of public and private building projects is suddenly focusing unusual attention on Rome's rich subterranean world as one treasure after another emerges at a steady clip.
"We're walking on the world's largest untapped underground museum," said Maria Antonietta Tomei, a government official responsible for coordinating archaeological digs in Rome.
During the last week reports surfaced that 800 coins from the fourth and fifth centuries BC had been unearthed during the reconstruction of a movie theater near the Trevi Fountain.
Earlier this month a temple from the second century AD dedicated to Matidia, mother-in-law of the Emperor Hadrian, was discovered when a former orphanage was rebuilt to create offices for the Italian Senate. La Repubblica, the daily newspaper, hailed that find as "the most important archaeological discovery in Rome in recent years."
And on a trip to New York last month Italian Culture Minister, Francesco Rutelli, revealed that some rare fourth-century regalia belonging to Emperor Maxentius, including spears and javelins, had been found wrapped in linen and silk and buried in wooden cases on the Palatine Hill, near the Colosseum.
Archeologists view the fervent media interest as a reflection of Italy's rising concern for its cultural patrimony.
"In the last 10 or 15 years there's been enormous attention on the part of the public" regarding Rome's ancient past, said Silvana Rizzo, an archeologist and top aide to Rutelli.
In what may seem like a paradox, globalization has also deepened the resolve of many countries to protect artifacts that reflect national cultures, said Angelo Bottini, the chief archeology official for Rome.
"There's greater desire to establish an identity, and archeology is identity," he said.
The increased interest is also an offshoot of growing vigilance among government-appointed archaeologists, who supervise all major private and public building projects in Italy.
"Today you can't move a shovelful of dirt without it being examined, so more archaeological finds come to light," Bottini said.
As a major subway project begins in downtown Rome, discoveries are likely to accelerate. Experts entrusted with protecting Italy's ancient heritage expect to be busy.
Several artifacts that surfaced during the preliminary digging for the subway line -- a Roman-era bronze compass and a bronze-and-copper spatula once used to mix makeup, for example -- are on view in the show at Olearie Papali, "Memories From the Underground: Archeological Finds From 1980 to 2006."
Archeologists organized the show to take stock of the recent finds, Bottini said.
"It is the prelude to a larger reflection on the enormous transformation of Rome through the centuries," he said.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS