Imagine digging in your garden and finding this lovely floor, just covered up with soil! Archaeologists knew there was an ancient villa under a vineyard in Northern Italy, but discovering this intricately-tiled floor was a surprise, just a week after the excavation resumed after a pause during the coronavirus outbreak.
The team discovered the tiles, as well as portions of the villa’s foundation, “a few meters” below the vineyard’s surface, according to the statement. To make the “archaeological treasure … hidden under our feet available and accessible,” the researchers will collaborate with authorities and the vineyard’s owners. The process will likely require both significant time and resources.
You have to wonder why and when someone decided to just have a bunch of topsoil hauled in to cover the floor. Read more about this find at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Comune di Negrar di Valpolicella)