What began as a routine engineering project on Rome's Caelian Hill has turned into one of the city's most significant recent archaeological discoveries.
Architects reinforcing an ancient Roman wall at Villa Celimontana unexpectedly uncovered the remains of a large Roman-era building decorated with elaborate mosaics, frescoes and painted ceilings. Archaeologists have so far identified eight rooms, five of which have been fully excavated, while several more extend beyond the current excavation area.
Chief archaeologist Simona Moretta said the team expected ancient remains given the site's location close to the Roman Forum, but not on such a scale.
"Being in the heart of ancient Rome, a stone's throw from the Roman Forum, that there could be something ancient, we had certainly taken that possibility into account, but certainly not with this importance. We have found a building with five full rooms, but another eight rooms whose walls enter into the area of excavation section but that we could not excavate. So it is a rather large building, especially with valuable surface decorations, because we have, in particular, in the room 'V', we have superimposed two mosaics - one from the third century (AD) and the lower one instead is from the second (century AD)."
