Scientists explored a buried Roman city without digging up an ounce of soil
The researchers used radar to reveal structures still lurking beneath the surface. (Google Earth; Verdonck et al., Antiquity, 2020/)Traditionally, checking out the towns and cities of our ancient ancestors has required a lot of digging. While we’ve been exploring ancient sites for centuries, scientists have been working to find newer, less destructive ways to learn about major sites like Pompeii, as well as the smaller communities that made up ancient Rome. Scientists at the University of Cambridge and Ghent University have used ground-penetrating radar to create a highly-detailed map of Falerii Novi, a Roman town that prospered from around 241 BC until 700 BCE and is now buried deep below the earth. The researchers published their findings last week in Antiquity.Around six feet beneath the city 40 miles north of Rome, the researchers found evidence of a bath complex, large homes, a marketplace, public buildings and monuments, temples, and water...