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Buried but found: First images of a lost Roman town
Phys.org ^ | Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | U of Cambridge

Posted on 09/10/2012 6:02:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Originally founded as a Roman colony in the 4th century BCE, the site of Interamna Lirenas lies in the Liri Valley in Southern Lazio, about 50 miles south of Rome itself. After it was abandoned around the year 500 CE, it was scavenged for building materials and, over time, its remains were completely lost from view. Today, the site is an uninterrupted stretch of farmland, with no recognisable archaeological features.

Now, researchers have successfully produced the first images of the ancient site, using geophysical methods that allowed them to look beneath the surface of the earth and map the layout of the entire settlement, which spans 25 hectares.

The resulting pictures have already thrown up a few surprises. Earlier scholars had previously imagined that the Roman town of Interamna Lirenas was something of a sleepy backwater, but the large marketplace and theatre instead suggest that, in fact, it was a bustling economic and social centre in its own right...

Interamna Lirenas is an enticing case study because, in spite of its size, it did not expand significantly during the high point of Rome's Imperial age, meaning that it retained much of its original colonial shape and features...

Knowing that a full-scale excavation of such a large area would be impractical, the research team decided to carry out a systematic geophysical analysis instead.

The main techniques they used were magnetometry and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Magnetometry measures changes in the earth's magnetic field caused by different features beneath the surface, and allowed the researchers to identify the town's overall layout, many individual buildings and a wide open area in the settlement's centre -- its forum or marketplace.

(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientrome; egypt; godsgravesglyphs; interamnalirenas; lazio; lirivalley; mesopotamia; romanempire
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To: taterjay

That’s not serious, that’s just stupid.


21 posted on 09/11/2012 5:02:49 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: GeorgeWashingtonsGhost

LOL!


22 posted on 09/11/2012 5:02:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: colorado tanker

Yeah, I think it’s just part of the site, and easier to recognize than ordinary structures. Somewhere there’s a file (maybe not here) about a pre-Roman (Etruscan, I think) version of Venice — basically an ancient city built with canals.


23 posted on 09/11/2012 5:06:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv
So, if you don’t, how did you know it (BCE) was in the text?

It was in the browser teaser. All ya' gotta' do is use BCE or AD (After Dating) and you lose me completely. (AD's tougher to see, but they usually qualify it so as to not offend their colleagues.

24 posted on 09/11/2012 5:06:53 PM PDT by laweeks
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To: Jumper

Thank you Jumper! In Yorkshire a medieval Viking site has been covered by more than eight feet of soil in circa 1000 years.


25 posted on 09/11/2012 5:07:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

Gee, leave it to the Romans to create a well layed out town, nothing like the ragtaggled towns I’ve seen.


26 posted on 09/11/2012 9:11:30 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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