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Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

smithsonianmag.com

11–20 of 123 posts

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#11

There must be a metaphor somewhere in this, when somehow it is the angry youth that discovers something of value hidden in plain view that no one bothered to look at before !

I visited Rome last year. There was a lot of talk about how long it was taking to build a new subway line, because they kept running into ancient artifacts. It was also commonly said that the city was like a lasagna, with layers upon layers of history under everything. Building that were originally built elevated are now at street level. It almost seems hard not to find ancient ruins. It then becomes a question of pr…

I thought the buildings getting lower was just the ground compressing. The foundation is solid, but the ground underneath still compresses. There are circumstances like Seattle where they literally built up the city, but those are less common

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I visited Rome last year. There was a lot of talk about how long it was taking to build a new subway line, because they kept running into ancient artifacts. It was also commonly said that the city was like a lasagna, with layers upon layers of history under everything. Building that were originally built elevated are now at street level. It almost seems hard not to find ancient ruins. It then becomes a question of pr…

I thought the buildings getting lower was just the ground compressing. The foundation is solid, but the ground underneath still compresses. There are circumstances like Seattle where they literally built up the city, but those are less common

No. The ground does not usually significantly compress under those loads. Remember for much of human history buildings are build with wood and non vitrified bricks that readily break back-down into mud/gravel/organic matter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_(archaeology)

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#13
post #9
post #8

> To William’s complete lack of surprise, the little cellar under the shed was much better built than the shed itself. But then, practically everywhere in Ankh-Morpork had cellars that were once the first or even second or third floors of ancient buildings, built at the time of one of the city’s empires when men thought that the future was going to last for ever. And then the river had flooded and brought mud with it…

For a modern example, see the Raising of Chicago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago . I think I've seen an image of what the old ground level looks like now, and / or that you can take tours there. There's probably loads of stuff buried there now. Edit: Actually it was Seattle, you can still visit its old ground level: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Underground

https://futurama.fandom.com/wiki/Old_New_York

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#14

[dead]

Are you okay? They were teenagers. We were all there and we all tried. The logistics of having 7 billion people quarantine while international flights and asymptomatic carriers carried on made it _impossible_ to not play out like it did

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#15

There must be a metaphor somewhere in this, when somehow it is the angry youth that discovers something of value hidden in plain view that no one bothered to look at before !

I visited Rome last year. There was a lot of talk about how long it was taking to build a new subway line, because they kept running into ancient artifacts. It was also commonly said that the city was like a lasagna, with layers upon layers of history under everything. Building that were originally built elevated are now at street level. It almost seems hard not to find ancient ruins. It then becomes a question of pr…

If they're so common, why not incorporate into the construction project?

Walk through a modern subway, see bits & pieces of ancient history all over the place. Buy icecream, sit on a bench that labourers hacked out of stone 2ky ago.

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I visited Rome last year. There was a lot of talk about how long it was taking to build a new subway line, because they kept running into ancient artifacts. It was also commonly said that the city was like a lasagna, with layers upon layers of history under everything. Building that were originally built elevated are now at street level. It almost seems hard not to find ancient ruins. It then becomes a question of pr…

If they're so common, why not incorporate into the construction project? Walk through a modern subway, see bits & pieces of ancient history all over the place. Buy icecream, sit on a bench that labourers hacked out of stone 2ky ago.

I visited Athens in 2006 shortly after the Olympics were held there and the city had been refreshed. The Syntagma Square subway station did exactly this, with layers of archaeology revealed behind glass as you descended the stairs. It was magnificent!

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I visited Rome last year. There was a lot of talk about how long it was taking to build a new subway line, because they kept running into ancient artifacts. It was also commonly said that the city was like a lasagna, with layers upon layers of history under everything. Building that were originally built elevated are now at street level. It almost seems hard not to find ancient ruins. It then becomes a question of pr…

If they're so common, why not incorporate into the construction project? Walk through a modern subway, see bits & pieces of ancient history all over the place. Buy icecream, sit on a bench that labourers hacked out of stone 2ky ago.

They do do that? https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260408-a-150-metro-tick...

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#18

[dead]

Are you okay? They were teenagers. We were all there and we all tried. The logistics of having 7 billion people quarantine while international flights and asymptomatic carriers carried on made it _impossible_ to not play out like it did

[flagged]

Re: Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins

#19
post #10

In Italy, almost anywhere you can find roman artifacts. They're just in the layer underneath the WW2 bombs.

It's truly amazing. In Rome, you can find ruins of all historical periods, all the way up to early 2020s!
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