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Archaeologists involved in a two-year-long excavation project at the site of a planned solar energy plant ancient city of Tarquinia, north of Rome, have unearthed an ancient Roman necropolis containing 67 skeletons buried in 57 ornate tombs.Early testing suggests the tombs and their occupants date back to the second through fourth centuries AD.This cemetery was undoubtedly reserved for wealthy and powerful Roman elites. The well-preserved skeletons were dressed in gold jewelry and fancy leather footwear, and their tombs appear to have been designed to resemble the architecture of their earthly homes (smaller in scale)...Although the region is known for such...

...in the heart of Paris, scientists have uncovered 50 graves in an ancient necropolis which offer a rare glimpse of life in the French capital's precursor Lutetia nearly 2,000 years ago.Somehow the buried necropolis was never stumbled upon during multiple road works over the years, as well as the construction of the Port-Royal station on the historic Left Bank in the 1970s.However, plans for a new exit for the train station prompted an archaeological excavation...The "Saint Jacques" necropolis, the largest burial site in the Gallo–Roman town of Lutetia, was previously partially excavated in the 1800s.However, only objects considered precious were...

By studying and excavating ancient burial grounds, we can learn about how final respects were paid when people died during ancient times. The artifacts located alongside these remains also provide insight into what items people valued and what they believed about the afterlife. A 2013 discovery of an ancient burial ground near Bethlehem is providing new information about one civilization that lived approximately 4000 years ago. In 2013, efforts began to build an industrial park near Bethlehem, leading to a discovery that may prove to offer fresh insights about the ancient world. The area where the industrial park was to...

Pope Francis visits the excavated necropolis below St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 1. The necropolis is where St. Peter's tomb has been venerated since early Christian times and where the first church dedicated to him was built. The tomb is two levels below the main altar of the modern basilica. (CNS/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters) By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis became the first pope to tour the excavated necropolis where St. Peter is buried, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman. With explanations from the two directors of the necropolis, the pope...

Iranian, foreign experts to excavate salt men’s necropolis TEHRAN, June 30 (MNA) -- A joint team of Iranian and foreign experts will collaborate on a project planned to excavate the Chehrabad Salt Mine, where all six of the “salt men” were discovered. Archaeologists and experts on other related fields from Germany, England, and Austria will participated in the project, which is expected to begin in spring 2009 in the salt mine located in the Hamzehlu region near Zanjan, northern Iran, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday. “The Chehrabad Salt Mine is one of important Iranian ancient sites, on...

VATICAN CITY, May 27, 2008(AP) The Vatican unveiled the largest and most luxurious of the pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday after nearly a year of restoration work. A family of former slaves built the Valeri Mausoleum during the second half of the second century, when Emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled. It is one of 22 pagan tombs in the grottoes under the basilica. The newly restored tomb was shown to media Tuesday. Visitors can have a guided tour of the grottoes by appointment. Emperor Constantine, a convert to Christianity, had the pagan burial grounds covered up...

Rubbish threatens Tuvixeddu necropolisRichard Owen in RomeMay 24,2008 An ancient Mediterranean necropolis described as one of the world's greatest historical sites is being submerged beneath cement, high rise housing and rubbish dumps, according to Italian conservationists. Tuvixeddu - which means “hills with small cavities” in the Sardinian dialect - contains thousands of Phoenician and Punic burial chambers from the 6th century BC. It has long been robbed of funerary objects but some of its tombs have retained their original paintings, including “Ureo's Tomb”, named after a sacred serpent, and “The Warrior's Tomb”, in which a decoration depicts a warrior throwing...

Forgotten necropolisAn unknown lakeside civilization reveals its hidden treasures The graves, set in concentric circles, contain artifacts including clothing and jewelry that tell us much about the inhabitants’ way of life. By Iota Myrtsioti - Kathimerini An unknown civilization around four lakes that lasted from 6000 BC to 60 BC has been uncovered in two important excavations of a Neolithic and an Iron Age settlement in the Amyntaio district of Florina, northern Greece. A 7,300-year-old home with a timber floor, remnants of food supplies and blackberry seeds are among the findings in a Neolithic settlement near the lakes of Vegoritis,...

The history of this dig may be found here. AP - Mon Oct 9, 10:40 AM ET In this undated photo provided Monday, Oct. 9, 2006 by the Vatican Museums, a general view of an ancient necropolis unearthed at the Vatican is seen. Vatican Museums officials and archaeologists on Monday unveiled the necropolis, which was unearthed three years ago during the construction of a parking lot for Vatican City employees and vehicles. Visitors to the Vatican will soon be able to step into the newly unveiled necropolis likened by archaeologists to a ''little Pompeii'' of cemeteries which were the final...

ROME - Archaeologists said Tuesday they have dug up a woman skeleton dating to the 10th century B.C. in an ancient necropolis in the heart of Rome. The well-preserved skeleton appears to be that of a woman aged about 30, said Anna De Santis, one of the archaeologists who took part in the excavations under the Caesar's Forum, part of the sprawling complex of the Imperial Forums in central Rome. An amber necklace and four pins were also found near the 5.25 foot-long skeleton, she said. The bones, dug up Monday, would likely be put on display in a museum...