Tombs newly excavated on Via Appia 39!

[@vito9674]

OMG ..Thank you so much for your devotion to our history and heritage ! As an Italian born in San Fele, Potenza 75 years ago each time I see these posts I must admit that my chest puffs out a little bit ! Through YOU Our contributions to the world and history still constantly amaze me . Thank You and all the hard workers making Italian history come alive !

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thank you! We are happy to share such great archaeological projects!

[@marial8235]

Darius, I’ve been watching you since I was in grad school (history: modern) in the late 1990s. You are almost like family! Your content just keeps getting better and better, and this dig is really interesting on so many levels. 👍

[@AncientRomeLive]

We thank you so very much! We promise that 2024 will be spectacular with greater content! Please check out @dariusarya's KZbin as well.

[@kevinhouse7143]

Once again Darius thanks for sharing the ancient history and real discoveries that are still being uncovered.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Our pleasure!

[@solinvictus39]

I understand the excavation and the motives for it, but is it really necessary to move the remains from their final resting places? Where are these remains going to? Are they going to be sitting in a box in a university somewhere? These people may have died hundreds or thousands of years ago, but shouldn't they be given the same dignity and respect that is accorded to modern people who die?

[@smellyfella5077]

""I understand the excavation and the motives for it, but is it really necessary to move the remains from their final resting places?"" ""These people may have died hundreds or thousands of years ago, but shouldn't they be given the same dignity and respect that is accorded to modern people who die?"" I agree 100%.

[@BalmforthGG]

Agreed, unless there is direct evidence of historical import, they should be reburied with the religious rites of their time.

[@AncientRomeLive]

It's all the property of the superintendency

[@solinvictus39]

@@AncientRomeLive With all due respect Darius, your response doesn't really answer my question(s).

[@artmichel5572]

BELLISSIMO! Thank you for bringing this fascinating news into my home...so far away in the U.S. east coast. Having lived and worked in Italy with so many beautiful sights to see, I was forever struck by the ancient gods and remain in love with all things "Italia". I anxiously await more from you, professori.

[@annwilliams6438]

Brilliant. So glad the Professor and her team are doing this dig. Hope it is fruitful.

[@bedinor]

It always fascinates me how much dirt and debris over a relatively short period of time covers so much up

[@AncientRomeLive]

Astounding. That little Almo river deposited quite a bit of material!

[@LostInSpace175]

fascinating stuff! Just followed all the socials and looking forward to hearing more about this site and possibly visiting it in the future !

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thank you!!

[@aurktman1106]

Absolutely incredible! I would love to be there and watch as this happens!

[@juanalvarez9420]

Question: Why is the mosaic, complete but not complete? Only half of the image of the bird bath was tiled out?

[@Mr.Death101]

That's a good question I was wondering the same thing.

[@MrCarGuy]

Damaged and repaired at a later date? Couldn't finish the job for some reason?

[@Mr.Death101]

@@inthenebula92 this is a mausoleum though so that wouldn't really make any sense because other parts would be destroyed as well and why would somebody be inside repairing the Mosaic of an already very old mausoleum? I get what you're saying and it's an opinion but I just highly doubt that. It's almost like it was separated intentionally between the two bodies buried there but once again that's my opinion. Hopefully we'll find out cuz I love stuff like this even though I consider it grave robbing and desecration of somebody's private burial. I mean how old does a burial have to be before you can plunder it of whatever was left inside by the people who cared about them and then just call it archeology? When can I start digging up the graves at the local cemetery?

[@AncientRomeLive]

A number of restorations to the pavement.

[@Mr.Death101]

@@AncientRomeLive is it directly next to the bodies in the mausoleum? I guess I'm just confused as to the floor level as to where the bodies were and why they would have changed the floor and made it half and half like that. So the bodies in this mausoleum were buried at floor level or below floor level? Sorry if that doesn't make sense I'm just really confused as to how this would have looked and why they would have changed the floor like that. Thank you for your time

[@justmaribx]

Can you do a video on the Basilica sotterranea di Porta Maggiore?

[@piercoucy]

I grw up in Ferrara! Incredible!

[@fanroche8573]

This is excellent with love from Scotland

[@mushymagazineonlocation7328]

Really good history being unearthed.

[@Russell9241]

Really interesting archaeology about 20 years ago I visited Rome and walked about 5 miles out and 5 miles back of the Via Appia it was so fascinating seeing all the Roman tombs and the stone surface of the Roman road, thanks for sharing this dig.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thank you. It remains a one-of-a-kind experience. More to come on the Via `Appia!

[@Russell9241]

@@AncientRomeLive Great I will look forward seeing more from future episodes, you are right it is an amazing place for archaeology digs

[@stringstheory8634]

Such a cool concept to add non archaeologists but have interest, well thought , where can I add my self to this program?? Very progressive thought and idea

[@revolvermaster4939]

Free labor is cost effective

[@AncientRomeLive]

Yes- do see the AppiaAntica39 on social media to ask to join!

[@Special_Agent_NSB]

2100 years of history just a few feet beneath the earth. Very cool stuff and regards to the archaeologists and their students.

[@jontompkins1844]

How old does a grave have to be before you can rob it?

[@MichaelMike-ob2gb]

Not old enough to have had someone beat you to it !

[@MarthaArya-x1x]

Wonderful!

[@WillMowass]

Very good! Question: early Roman male statues are clean shaven. Later ones men are bearded. Is this due to interaction with 'barbarians' or Persians?

[@Gaheku]

No, it's Greek influence. Men with beards were a Greek thing in this period. So having a beard would be emulating the Greeks.

[@solinvictus39]

@@Gaheku Also, emperors like Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian popularized/normalized wearing beards in the Roman world.

[@rendelmetos100]

Exactly! @@solinvictus39

[@AncientRomeLive]

The beards became trendy with the emperor Hadrian and onward... before, soldiers in the field were often unshaven... same for periods of mourning...

[@denizalgazi]

Thank you for sharing another fantastic archeological find! Wishing you a very happy, healthy, and safe New Year!

[@AncientRomeLive]

Happy new year to you, too!

[@wizzardofpaws2420]

It's about times these tombs were excavated! Can't wait to see what they find. I hope the dna is taken so we can see if we are related to these people.

[@georgejetson3648]

So you condone grave robbery?

[@AncientRomeLive]

DNA analysis is EXPENSIVE- but it should be conducted here.

[@SL-sd3sg]

I think more people would add their DNA to databases if ancient people were on there too. I’m sure the costs could be covered this way.

[@illicitshiznit]

Was it buried on purpose or just lost to time and forgotten? Super interesting!

[@hannibalb8276]

@@ricksmith1673 yeah, no

[@AncientRomeLive]

Flooding from the nearby Almo "river"

[@greatedges]

Very interesting! Thank you.

[@hypsyzygy506]

Half the mosaic seems to have been destroyed and the tesserae relaid randomly. Is this correct, or was this the original design, somehow representing the dissolution of the earthly body? If part of the mosaic was destroyed later, why wasn't an attempt made to relay it correctly? Was the family no longer connected to the mausoleum, or did they no longer consider it necessary to respect these dead? When was it destroyed, and why? Is something buried beneath the floor? Was it a hasty burial of family treasures, and was the mosaic relaid and covered with earth immediately as extra concealment? Was there something substantial covering the intact part which preserved it?

[@Narev31]

I was wondering exactly the same thing!

[@MassimoShire1981]

That's is the results of farming and plowing for centuries after the fall of western roman empire. Probably half of That area was open common field for centuries.

[@MarieAntoinette1938_tmc]

Where is Julius Caesar buried and where his remains found?

[@AncientRomeLive]

Ashes were laid to rest in front of his temple in the forum. Only the concrete foundations are visible today. See our Forum videos for views of the remains.

[@leeaisley3633]

hope they find Appius Claudius ❤❤❤❤

[@kenboydart]

By the way, what is the difference between excavation and looting? in my view one requires permission, and the other one does not, just saying ......

[@AncientRomeLive]

Looters can excavate- but they do it illegally, of course... Legal, sanctioned excavations are monitored by the local authorities, governed by various laws and regulations.

[@danielefabbro822]

Now you can understand why it's damn hard to make a decent subway metro in Rome. 😑😮‍💨

[@philipcallicoat3147]

Question.... How many dead people are there in the cemetery? Answer: All of them...

[@LauraS1]

Man, I hope nobody digs me back up 2,000 years from now. LOL I get wanting to know what life was like back then but digging up so many tombs is kind of disrespectful of the dead, history or not. Mine is an unpopular opinion, though.

[@lanafoster1870]

Often times if these sites are not conserved and researched they are forgotten or completely destroyed. I think having your life known others thousands of years later is so much more powerful then being forgotten for eternity. One of the closest ways one can get to immortality

[@BenjaminIMeszaros]

You’ll be dead, so you won’t care. 🤷

[@justadildeau]

​@lanafoster1870 SPOT ON COMMENT! Thank you for helping educate people who do not appreciate the actual value of conservation archeology. I especially agree with the part of achieving a form of immortality via this preservation. Great examples of this is ancient Egyptian mummies. Their afterlife was prepared for and having their names said thousands of years after death is giving them immortality. It is said you die twice. Once is when you physically die and the second death is when no one speaks your name or remembers you.

[@cw4608]

You are entitled to your opinion. It makes no difference if it is ‘unpopular’.

[@jontompkins1844]

I agree

[@Patrick3183]

Are those all Roman skeletons?

[@petersclafani4370]

Maybe they are those that were crucified along the appian way.. sparatcus

[@AncientRomeLive]

This stuff is 2C AD mostly.

[@fload46d]

Really more interested in the Catholic martyrs etc of Rome.

[@ianbrown8875]

At what point does grave robbing merge into archeology.?

[@ryanj6862]

Ever hear of a siphon and a hose?

[@floydfanboy2948]

No accent at all 😅

[@gobanito]

Tomb desecration. LOL

[@josephvictor9141]

not Interested in talking heads,show the excavation

[@rendelmetos100]

Very sloppy excavation work! Using a broom to sweep away the ground water on the tiles, wow!

[@jamesruddy9264]

What should they be using instead?

[@rendelmetos100]

Large sponges, & Buckets@@jamesruddy9264

[@TappioLopullinen-us8dx]

the earth ís flat plane, not a spinning ball. there is no "outer space"

[@steffanjansenvanvuuren3257]

Why do you dig up people's graves, because their families are not around to sue you...

[@rf7192]

So, you're desecrating graves?

[@MJanovicable]

Don't start.