Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 27 June 2017

Subway digging uncovers ‘Pompeii-like scene’ in Rome

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Digging for
Rome’s new subway has
unearthed the charred
ruins of an early 3rd-
century building and the
1,800-year-old skeleton of
a crouching dog that ap-
parently perished in the
same blaze that collapsed
the structure.
Archaeologists on Monday
said they made the discov-
ery on May 23 while exam-
ining a 10-meter (33-foot)
-deep hole bored near the
ancient Aurelian Walls as
part of construction work
for the Metro C line.
“A Pompeii-like scene”
was how the Culture Min-
istry described the findings
that evoked comparisons
to the inhabitants trapped
by the 79 A.D. Vesuvius vol-
canic explosion and pre-
served for centuries in the
ruins of Pompeii.
“The fire that stopped life
in this environment allows
us to image life in a precise
moment,” said Francesco
Prosperetti,
in charge of Rome’s ar-
chaeological ruins and ex- This photo made available Monday, June 26, 2017, by the Italian Culture Ministry, shows part of the 1,800-year-old skeleton of a dog,
cavations. which apparently perished in a blaze in Rome.
Experts say the Rome ru- Associated Press
ins might be from an aris-
tocrat’s home at the foot has such a limited subway tant capitals. frescoed wall fragments buildings, in what’s called
of the nearby Celian Hill system for a metropolis is In this dig, items found in- — with a reddish hue; and the mid-Imperial period of
or from a nearby military that construction of an un- cluded a leg of a stool or black-and-white mosaic the former Roman Empire.
barracks, which itself had derground transport line table; another one, more floor tiles on the upper story The archaeologists said the
been explored in other ex- inevitably reveals layers massive, possibly from a of the collapsed building. fire hardened the artifacts,
cavations for the subway of what had been buried wooden trunk; a small They offer clues to how Ro- giving them a quality of
line. slices of life from one of the table; a larger table; a mans then lived, as well as preservation that is rarely
One of the reasons Rome ancient world’s most impor- wooden railing or handrail; how they constructed their found.q