Rome's Subway Expansion Reveals Artifacts From The Ancient Past
"All roads may lead to Rome, but once you get there, good luck taking the subway.
The sprawling metropolis is expanding its mass transit system — a sluggish process made even slower as workers keep running into buried ancient ruins."
"'I found some gold rings. I found glasswork laminated in gold depicting a Roman god, some amphoras,' says Gilberto Pagani, a bulldozer operator at the Amba Aradam metro stop, currently under construction not far from the Colosseum."
"Pagani is part of an archaeological team at the site, a certified archaeological construction worker trained to excavate, preserve and build in cities like Rome, with thousands of years of civilization buried beneath the surface."
"The presence of ancient artifacts underground is a daunting challenge for urban developers. For archaeologists, it's the opportunity of a lifetime."
"'I think it's the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me, professionally speaking,' says Simona Morretta, the state archaeologist in charge of the Amba Aradam site. 'Because you never get the chance in a regular excavation to dig so deep. That's how we've found architectural complexes as important as this.'"