After Digging The Ground For 13 Years, Scientists Uncover Lost City Occupied By Over 2000 People
- Researchers working in Italy have discovered an ancient city that existed alongside the Roman Empire centuries ago
- The ancient city known as Interamna Lirenas was discovered after 13 years of digging by archaeologists
- According to the researchers, Interamna Lirenas thrived around the third century, and it was home to 2000 people
Scientists working in Italy have discovered a lost city known as Interamna Lirenas.
According to the archaeologists who carried out a major excavation to uncover the ancient city, it existed around the third century.
Source: UGC
The findings of the research work were published in the edited volume Roman Urbanism in Italy in 2023.
The study was led by Alessandro Launaro, who said the researchers found a town that thrived and overcame challenges for 900 years.
Before now, Interamna Lirenas was written off as a city which was in decline, but the new research suggests it thrived even though the Roman Empire had crumbled.
According to the lead researcher, Alessandro, no one had ever tried to excavate the site in the past.
He said:
"We started with a site so unpromising that no one had ever tried to excavate it — that's very rare in Italy. There was nothing on the surface, no visible evidence of buildings, just bits of broken pottery. But what we discovered wasn't a backwater, far from it. We found a thriving town adapting to every challenge thrown at it for 900 years.'
They conducted a magnetic and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the site and used a series of targeted excavations to do the work.
Source: UGC
They discovered a large warehouse, a temple and a bath complex, which served a port on the River Liri.
The researchers also found evidence of a roofed theatre which was capable of sitting about 1500 people.
Alessandro said the city was not in decline based on the new evidence available through their work.
He said, as quoted by the Daily Mail UK:
"The fact that this town went for a roofed theatre, such a refined building, does not fit with a backwater in decline. This theatre was a major status symbol. It displayed the town's wealth, power and ambition. We think many other average Roman towns in Italy were just as resilient. It's just that archaeologists have only recently begun to apply the right techniques and approaches to see this."
Scientists say water exists on Mars
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Chinese and American scientists who are studying to know if Mars once had water bodies have made a new discovery.
People like Elon Musk have always dreamed of sending humans to Mars and making it habitable like the Earth.
The Chinese robot known as Zhurong rover landed on Mars in 2021, and it has sent back information after penetrating the ground.
PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
Israel Usulor (Human-Interest editor) Israel Usulor is a journalist who has 10 years of experience. He worked at The Prime Newspaper and has published articles in TheCable Newspaper. Israel graduated with distinction from Fidei Polytechnic (Mass Commun, 2016). Israel has interviewed Zannah Mustapha, the man who helped negotiate the release of Chibok Girls, and Kunle Adeyanju, who rode a bike from London to Lagos. He covered exclusive stories on Chef Dami during her Guinness World Records cookathon. Email: israel.usulor@corp.legit.ng.
Nkem Ikeke (Copy editor) Nkem Ikeke is currently a copy editor who also writes for the politics and current affairs desk on weekends. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2010), and has over 10 years of work experience in the media industry (Reporter, News Agency of Nigeria). Email: n.ikeke@corp.legit.ng
