Archaeologists Thought They Found an Ancient Roman Home. They Only Scratched the Surface.
A Gallo-Roman residence first found in 1966 was recently re-examined, and archeologists found that earlier excavations had only partially uncovered what was hidden.
The 43,000-square-foot residence in central France included radiant flooring and enclosed baths, and was built sometime between the first and fourth centuries A.D.
The Gallo-Roman home was obviously for a wealthy family—possibly aristocrats.
Archaeologists only scratched the surface—quite literally—in 1966 when they examined what is now known to be one of the grandest Roman-era villas ever discovered in central France.
When crews began the process of creating a gravel pit on the bank of the Yonne River back in the 1960s, they uncovered a 10-room, 7,500-square-foot residence—and stopped digging.
Now, new archaeological work shows that the impressive find from nearly 60 years ago wasn't the crown jewel of the site, but simply the 'secondary wing' of a striking 43,000-square-foot home complete with gardens, thermal baths, radiant heating, mosaics, and all the other things a wealthy aristocrat from the first through fourth century A.D. could ask for.
According to an announcement from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research from the Sainte-Nitasse archaeological site, the four-acre property along the river shows off Gallo-Roman culture in Roman Gaul. 'We are not talking about a simple country residence,' the team wrote in a translated statement, 'but the core of a vast agricultural estate managed by a family belonging to the political or economic elite of the region.'
The large villa in Roman Gaul is impressive not only for the transparent size of the structure, but for what it says about the development of residential buildings of the time. These sites often feature sophisticated architecture with materials such as marble, mosaics, and frescoes. Many also include pools, fountains, and gardens that create courtyards and private sanctuaries. This villa has all of that, and few villas have it all in the same scale.
'It is rare to find a pars urbana [residential area] so developed and excavated so extensively,' the team wrote.
The building has a perimeter wall around it, expansive gardens on each side, a pool to the north, and a fountain to the south. The home features gallery rooms, reception spaces, work areas, a kitchen, traces of mosaics, and even thermal baths attached to the dwelling that fill the eastern wing.
Initial findings suggest two stages of construction, although the team hasn't ruled out a third possible phase, which could coincide with the growth of the ancient of Auxerre (near which this villa was built). The city began as a secondary rural settlement at the beginning of the first century, and grew into a capital city by the fourth century.
The researchers plan to analyze the recovered artifacts to hopefully reconstruct the daily life of the residents of the Gallo-Roman villa. 'While the size of the buildings outlines the very comfortable lifestyle of the occupants,' the team wrote, 'the remains of their daily lives still need to be studied to better characterize them.'
You Might Also Like
The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape
The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere
Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pompeii's second life: New evidence suggests the city was reoccupied after devastating eruption
Though the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD turned Pompeii into a city of ash, killing up to a fifth of its 20,000 residents and leaving it in ruins, new evidence suggests that some survivors - and possibly newcomers - returned to the smouldering remains to rebuild their lives. Fresh excavations from the Insula Meridionalis (Southern Block) of the archaeological park have revealed post-eruption modifications to buildings, signs of domestic activity, and adaptive reuse of the ruins. Researchers now believe this post-eruption community lived in makeshift conditions, transforming the ruined homes into a kind of survivalist settlement. Upper floors were re-inhabited while the ground levels - once elegant Roman spaces - were repurposed into cellars with ovens and mills. These settlers may have included not only former residents, but also newcomers with nothing to lose - hoping to survive among the wreckage or even unearth valuables left behind. Related Roman-era erotic mosaic panel stolen by Nazi captain during World War II returns to Pompeii From priestesses to prostitutes: New exhibition uncovers the lives of women in Pompeii 'Judging by the archaeological data, it must have been an informal settlement where people lived in precarious conditions, without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city,' researchers said in a statement. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the site added: "Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii re-emerges, more than a city, a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still recognisable ruins of the Pompeii that once was." The research team believes this period of reoccupation may have continued until the 5th century, when another volcanic event - known as the "Pollena eruption" - likely forced the final abandonment of the site. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
New evidence at Pompeii show signs of life after deadly eruption
Archaeologists have discovered new evidence pointing to the reoccupation of Pompeii following the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius that left the city in ruins, the directors of the famous site said Wednesday. Despite the massive destruction suffered by Pompeii, an ancient Roman city home to more than 20,000 people before the eruption, some survivors who could not afford to start a new life elsewhere are believed to have returned to live in the devastated area. Archaeologists believe they were joined by others looking for a place to settle and hoping to find valuable items left by Pompeii's earlier residents in the rubble. "Judging by the archaeological data, it must have been an informal settlement where people lived in precarious conditions, without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city," before the area was completely abandoned in the fifth century, they said in a statement. While some life returned to the upper floors of the old houses, the former ground floors were converted into cellars with ovens and mills. "Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii reemerges, more than a city, a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still recognizable ruins of the Pompeii that once was," said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the site. Evidence that the site was reoccupied had been detected in the past, but in the rush to access Pompeii's colorful frescoes and still-intact homes, "the faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation." "The momentous episode of the city's destruction in 79 AD has monopolized the memory," said Zuchtriegel. Archaeologists estimate that 15-20% of Pompeii's population died in the eruption, mostly from thermal shock as a giant cloud of gases and ash covered the city. Volcanic ash buried the Roman city, perfectly preserving the homes, public buildings, objects and even the people until its discovery in the late 16th century. Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is Italy's second most-visited tourist spot after the Colosseum in Rome, with some 4.17 million visitors last year. It covers a total area of approximately 22 hectares (54.4 acres), a third of which is still buried under ash. The new findings mark the latest in a string of recent discoveries in Pompeii this year. In April, life-sized statues of a man and a woman were discovered in a tomb at the site. In February, paintings depicting Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, were discovered. The images were painted on the walls of a large banquet room. The month before that, archaeologists excavated a large private bathhouse that included multiple rooms and a plunge pool. Sneak peek: The Strange Shooting of Alex Pennig Neil deGrasse Tyson weighs in on plans for a moon-based nuclear reactor Breaking down the Trump tariffs economic goals
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Homeowners discover suspected Nazi bunker underground with creepy message scrawled on walls: ‘Beware, the enemy is listening'
A UK couple was taken aback after discovering a World War 2-era 'Nazi bunker' underneath their home. 'It's not something you find every day!' Shaun Tullier, 35, told South West News Service while recalling the 'completely wild' discovery. The subterranean refuge was reportedly located 26 feet underground and was outfitted with bottles, water and even an escape hatch like a Bond villain's lair. He and his wife Caroline, 32, had moved into the domicile in Guernsey in 2021, unaware of the wartime shelter that lay beneath their feet. Having been born in Guernsey, Shaun had been familiar with the history of the Channel Islands, which were occupied by German forces from 1940 until their liberation in May 1945, the BBC reported. They had reportedly turned these idyllic isles into an 'impregnable fortress' in line with Adolf Hitler's orders. However, while the Brit knew that the site had been used as an enemy gun emplacement, he didn't realize it also housed a concealed bunker until he got tipped off by a woman who used to live in the house. She had reportedly contacted Shaun, who works as a carpenter, while he was hawking some chopped boards on Facebook Marketplace. 'She said, 'Oh did you find the rooms below your house?'' Shaun recounted.'I then replied, 'Oh, so there are rooms!', to which she said, 'Yes, we used to play in there when we were kids, my dad filled it in — I know they're at the front of the house.'' That's when he made the decision to uproot the driveway to try and unearth this chamber of secrets. Shaun and his friend ended up using an excavator to remove 100 tons of earth, uncovering the entrance to the underground lair. 'We kept digging down for a while and then finally, the ground just gave way and this doorway appeared,' he said, per the BBC. The space reportedly measured 17ft by 10ft and 17ft by 20ft, and featured a hallway that was 30ft by 4 feet wide. It also housed the remnants of the occupants who sheltered there, including old bottles, water, tins a tiled floor, and an emergency exit. Perhaps most notable was the chilling German phrase 'achtung feind hort mit,' which translates to 'beware, the enemy is listening.' 'You can't really put it into words,' said Tullier, who knew about the bunkers but didn't expect to find one under his home. 'I always knew about bunkers, but when Guernsey people came back to Guernsey after the war, they wanted to fill all the bunkers up,' he said. 'A lot of people still have bunkers here, but they are down the road and in gardens — not underneath the house!' The homeowner was reportedly so enamored with the discovery that he took pains to preserve the historical elements. They reportedly filled the bunker with 80s tons of concrete to encase the walls and steps, and are currently in the process of converting the space into a games room with a snooker table and a gym. The pair hopes to install the floor and finish painting the space by November. They even plan to preserve the eerie message. 'We are definitely keeping the writing — and might get someone that can calligraphy it back on, otherwise it gets lost,' said Shaun. 'Even the air getting to it has faded it a bit.' Ultimately, the Brit believes the restoration is worth it, declaring, 'It's not just rooms for us, it's a part of history.' Solve the daily Crossword
