How ancient Rome was excavated in Italy in the 1920s. Unique rare videos and photos. [10:03]

How ancient Rome was excavated in Italy in the 1920s. Unique rare videos and photos.

Photographs taken during archaeological work in the Italian capital in the late nineteenth century also include photographs from the excavation of the main harbor of Ancient Rome and presumably its first colony - Ostia, also at the Villa Nero in Anzio and at Villa Adriana in Tivoli.

The most extensive excavations of the ancient port began in 1938 on the orders of Mussolini and lasted until 1942. For five years, a significant part of the city was dug up and about 600,000 cubic meters of land were recovered.

In some places to get from the level of modern streets to the streets of the Roman periud had to go 12 meters deep.

Villa Adriana - Imperial Villa in Tivoli, from where the Emperor Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire at the end of his life.

Excavations in the Plaza Torre Argentino in 1926 - 28 years and the construction of the avenue Via dei Fori Imperiali in the thirties.

Today we will be diving into a collection of over 50 photographs, considered to be the first photographs ever taken depicting the ancient monuments and fallen structures of Rome, Italy.

All roads lead to Rome, and in this photographic compilation we will focus on images dated as early as 1841, through photographs taken in approximately 1870.

A majority of these images come to us by way of Gioacchino Altobelli, an Italian painter, who moved to Rome in 1830 to perfect his craft, only to fall in love with the new technology of photography. These are the oldest photographs we currently know exist of Rome. The Old World images today are absolutely stunning - Enjoy, and please share this video!
The First Photographs Ever Taken in Rome, Italy
(1841-1871) Gioacchino Altobelli & The Old World | 22:47
Jarid Boosters | 157K subscribers | 712,012 views | July 31, 2023

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:01 · foreign
0:06 · [Music]
0:12 · howdy y'all welcome back thank you for
0:15 · being here and thank you for helping the
0:17 · channel hit 80 000 subscribers to
0:21 · celebrate today we are going to be
0:23 · looking through an absolutely astounding
0:26 · collection of never before seen images
0:29 · of Rome Italy the very first ever taken
0:33 · images of Rome Italy
0:36 · we will see ancient relics and the
0:38 · history which still plays a part in the
0:41 · current narrative that many people use
0:43 · today these photographs are considered
0:46 · to be the first ever photographs of
0:48 · ancient Rome as well as some of the
0:50 · earliest photographs ever taken in Italy
0:53 · [Music]
1:02 · these images throughout the video are
1:05 · mostly attributed to Italian giaccino
1:08 · autobelli born in 1814 in 1830 at the
1:13 · age of 16 Alto belly moved to Rome where
1:17 · he began his pursuit of the art
1:21 · foreign
1:23 · [Music]
1:30 · the new technology of Photography
1:33 · finally arrived to Italy in the mid to
1:36 · late 1830s
1:38 · Otto belly dedicated the rest of his
1:41 · career to perfecting and photographing
1:44 · some of the most ancient and most
1:46 · infamous sites through our own being the
1:49 · first man to take quality photographs of
1:52 · almost every major historical site
1:54 · around the city those are the images we
1:57 · will look at today
2:00 · from 1841 through 1871 Alto belly along
2:05 · with a team of other photographers
2:07 · including Richard Jones took it upon
2:09 · themselves to document the most famous
2:11 · and ancient city of Rome as completely
2:14 · as possible
2:15 · foreign
2:18 · [Music]
2:23 · for the remainder of this video we are
2:27 · going to be looking at these oldest
2:29 · photographs of Rome taken by octoberley
2:32 · and Jones and other photographers this
2:35 · compilation will show you many ancient
2:38 · sites across the city of Rome some you
2:41 · may recognize right away While others
2:43 · may appear more obscure some of them may
2:47 · not be standing today I've tried to
2:49 · provide details on the more substantial
2:52 · images within the video and I will also
2:55 · leave links to multiple quality
2:57 · collections of these images down below
3:00 · again as we view these photographs
3:03 · remember each one is at least
3:06 · 150 years old with the most recent
3:09 · photographs in this compilation dating
3:12 · to roughly 1870. this is when Alto belly
3:16 · documented Rome the day after the
3:19 · conquest of that same year
3:22 · what is so fascinating about the 1870s
3:27 · so-called conquest of Rome is that it
3:30 · upset the power vacuum in the region it
3:34 · diminished the papal strength and it
3:36 · began a process that would eventually
3:39 · lead to the unification and the Kingdom
3:42 · of Italy all of these regions of Rome
3:45 · are documented mostly for the first time
3:49 · ever on photograph in this video so
3:52 · hopefully you can see the value of these
3:55 · images I hope they're eye-opening and as
3:57 · breathtaking to you as they were to me
4:00 · please like share and subscribe to my
4:03 · channel if you're not already and I look
4:05 · forward to hearing what you have to say
4:07 · in our discussion of ancient Rome in the
4:10 · comment section down below as always I
4:13 · thank you so much for being here and
4:15 · enjoy the rest of these images

I see this more as a sidebar, rather than a standalone topic. - 'Civ

[snip] In this video I'm breaking down the impressive and futuristic tech of the Roman Empire, all from automated doors to vending machines dispensing wine and holy water. [/snip]
The Advanced Tech of The Roman Empire | 12:07
Lost in Time | 2.22M subscribers | 2,704,635 views | August 10, 2025

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:12 Automated doors
02:24 The first steam engine
03:45 Self healing concrete
05:46 Water clock
08:08 Industrial scale mill
09:16 Roman lock
10:40 The first vending machine

Leo AI 'transcript' generated thus -- remove timestamps, include headers, format into paragraphs -- is once again just a paraphrasing of the spoken script. -- 'Civ

The Advanced Tech of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was known for its infrastructure and strong leadership, but it also quietly developed technologies that were well ahead of its time. From completely automated doors to self-healing concrete, the Romans created innovations that were only recently understood by modern scientists.
Automated Doors
One example of Roman ingenuity is the automated doors of a Roman temple. A priest would light a small fire on an altar beside the entrance, causing the doors to slowly swing open without any human intervention. This was made possible by a hidden container beneath the altar, which used water and air to build up pressure and turn a series of ropes, opening the doors. When the fire was extinguished, the system would reset itself, allowing the doors to close.
The First Steam Engine
The Romans also developed the first documented reaction steam turbine in history, known as the Aeolipile. This machine consisted of a hollow metal sphere with nozzles on each side, mounted on pivoting tubes. When heated, the steam would rise through the nozzles, causing the sphere to spin. Although people saw it as a spectacle rather than a machine for work, the core principle of the Aeolipile would later shape the modern era.
Self-Healing Concrete
The Romans also developed self-healing concrete, which could repair cracks and weaknesses on its own. This was made possible by a combination of volcanic ash, volcanic terra, sand, quicklime, and water, mixed under high temperatures. When cracks formed and moisture seeped in, chunks of lime inside the concrete would dissolve and trigger a chemical reaction, creating a calcium-saturated solution that would "glue" the structure back together.
Water Clock
The Romans also developed a water clock, powered by gravity and flow, to keep track of time. This clock had two containers, one filled with water that would flow into the other, causing a float to move and mark the current time on a chart. At the end of the day, the water would spill over through a siphon, resetting the clock and making it track a new day.
Industrial-Scale Mill
The Romans also created a factory capable of producing up to 25 tons of flour each day, using 16 water wheels powered by flowing water from two aqueducts. This was an industrial-scale food production system, with each water wheel turning heavy millstones inside each building, grinding grain into flour before workers collected and transported it to the city.
Roman Lock
The Romans also developed a lock, discovered in 2023, which was made of gold and was only half the size of a Coca-Cola cap. This lock was impressive not only because of its size but also because of its intricate mechanism, which was mostly intact even after 1,600 years underground.
The First Vending Machine
Finally, the Romans developed the first vending machine, which served holy water and wine. By inserting a coin, wine would start pouring by itself, using a pan, lever, and valve system to dispense the wine. This was a truly genius invention for the time, but it didn't stay popular for long, until it was revisited with newspaper, postcard, and chewing gum dispensers in the 19th century.

(another sidebar) Greek City Times reports that a resident of Manbij, Syria, notified local authorities of the presence of a large inscribed stone buried near a central city market. An archaeological team called to the site recovered the object and identified it as a Roman-era stele. The black basalt pillar, which was shaped around 2,000 years ago, features an ornately carved eagle clutching a wreath in its talons along with an inscription written in Greek. In Roman society, the eagle was closely associated with the god Jupiter and symbolized strength, authority, and divine protection. Greek was the dominant language used in the eastern Roman provinces. The combination of both Greek and Roman elements signifies the cultural fusion that permeated the city at this time. Hierapolis Bambyce, the ancient city in what is now Manbij, was a flourishing settlement celebrated for its temples, trade networks, and grand architecture. Experts believe the stone served as a funerary monument, and hope that once the inscription has been translated it will reveal details about the name, rank, and lineage of the deceased. To read about an ancient mound in Syria now covered by a lake, go to "Mesopotamian War Memorial."
Manbij Region

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:01	·	foreign
0:06	·	[Music]
0:12	·	howdy y'all welcome back thank you for
0:15	·	being here and thank you for helping the
0:17	·	channel hit 80 000 subscribers to
0:21	·	celebrate today we are going to be
0:23	·	looking through an absolutely astounding
0:26	·	collection of never before seen images
0:29	·	of Rome Italy the very first ever taken
0:33	·	images of Rome Italy
0:36	·	we will see ancient relics and the
0:38	·	history which still plays a part in the
0:41	·	current narrative that many people use
0:43	·	today these photographs are considered
0:46	·	to be the first ever photographs of
0:48	·	ancient Rome as well as some of the
0:50	·	earliest photographs ever taken in Italy
0:53	·	[Music]
1:02	·	these images throughout the video are
1:05	·	mostly attributed to Italian giaccino
1:08	·	autobelli born in 1814 in 1830 at the
1:13	·	age of 16 Alto belly moved to Rome where
1:17	·	he began his pursuit of the art
1:21	·	foreign
1:23	·	[Music]
1:30	·	the new technology of Photography
1:33	·	finally arrived to Italy in the mid to
1:36	·	late 1830s
1:38	·	Otto belly dedicated the rest of his
1:41	·	career to perfecting and photographing
1:44	·	some of the most ancient and most
1:46	·	infamous sites through our own being the
1:49	·	first man to take quality photographs of
1:52	·	almost every major historical site
1:54	·	around the city those are the images we
1:57	·	will look at today
2:00	·	from 1841 through 1871 Alto belly along
2:05	·	with a team of other photographers
2:07	·	including Richard Jones took it upon
2:09	·	themselves to document the most famous
2:11	·	and ancient city of Rome as completely
2:14	·	as possible
2:15	·	foreign
2:18	·	[Music]
2:23	·	for the remainder of this video we are
2:27	·	going to be looking at these oldest
2:29	·	photographs of Rome taken by octoberley
2:32	·	and Jones and other photographers this
2:35	·	compilation will show you many ancient
2:38	·	sites across the city of Rome some you
2:41	·	may recognize right away While others
2:43	·	may appear more obscure some of them may
2:47	·	not be standing today I've tried to
2:49	·	provide details on the more substantial
2:52	·	images within the video and I will also
2:55	·	leave links to multiple quality
2:57	·	collections of these images down below
3:00	·	again as we view these photographs
3:03	·	remember each one is at least
3:06	·	150 years old with the most recent
3:09	·	photographs in this compilation dating
3:12	·	to roughly 1870. this is when Alto belly
3:16	·	documented Rome the day after the
3:19	·	conquest of that same year
3:22	·	what is so fascinating about the 1870s
3:27	·	so-called conquest of Rome is that it
3:30	·	upset the power vacuum in the region it
3:34	·	diminished the papal strength and it
3:36	·	began a process that would eventually
3:39	·	lead to the unification and the Kingdom
3:42	·	of Italy all of these regions of Rome
3:45	·	are documented mostly for the first time
3:49	·	ever on photograph in this video so
3:52	·	hopefully you can see the value of these
3:55	·	images I hope they're eye-opening and as
3:57	·	breathtaking to you as they were to me
4:00	·	please like share and subscribe to my
4:03	·	channel if you're not already and I look
4:05	·	forward to hearing what you have to say
4:07	·	in our discussion of ancient Rome in the
4:10	·	comment section down below as always I
4:13	·	thank you so much for being here and
4:15	·	enjoy the rest of these images