29th March 2024
Rome metro line runs into Roman barracks and burial ground
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Rome metro line runs into Roman barracks and burial ground

Archaeologists unearthed 2,000-year-old barracks, the home of a military commander, and thousands of artifacts.

Archaeologists unearthed a 14-room home, likely used by a commander of Emperor Hadrian's Praetorian Guard, back in March (Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism)
Archaeologists unearthed a 14-room home, likely used by a commander of Emperor Hadrian’s Praetorian Guard, back in March (Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism)

Construction on the metro route of Rome, the C line, is going south. Now, 22 stations are open, a relieve for both the overcrowded citizens of the city and the visitors who can now ride the train from the city center to the suburbs east of Rome.

The discoveries at Amba Aradam include human bones, bronze coins and bracelets
The discoveries at Amba Aradam include human bones, bronze coins and bracelets

Work isn’t just a gift to travelers-it’s also an archaeologist’s fantasy, unearthing historical breadcrumbs from petrified peach pits to mosaics and amphora pottery, as well as structures including a 3rd-century building razed by fire, 2,000-year-old barracks used by Emperor Hadrian’s army and a military commander’s private home.

San Giovanni is the newest addition to the line, and Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times notes that the station, which opened on May in the Appio Latino neighborhood, provides passengers not only travel, but a special trip through the history of the area.

According to the Telegraph’s Nick Squires, San Giovanni’s display cases contain a collection of more than 40,000 artifacts uncovered during construction, tracing the history of community from the Pleistocene Period to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 BC.

“It’s a sort of time machine–the further down you go in the station, the further you reach back into the history of Rome,” Francesco Prosperetti, superintendent of the city’s archaeological department, tells Squires.

During the height of the Roman Empire, the station housed a rich agricultural zone that produced fruit, vegetables and flowers for the city’s prominent inhabitants. This luxurious past is evident in the underground “museum-station,” which features 2,000-year-old peach stones, remnants of a 1st century B.C.E. woven basket and a perfume bottle crafted out of turquoise glass.

The extensive ruins will form part of a new metro station
The extensive ruins will form part of a new metro station

The next station scheduled to open is Amba Aradam, a site near the Colosseum that has yielded significant archaeological discoveries. In 2016, researchers digging at roughly 30 feet below street level discovered a 39-room complex covering more than 9,700 square feet.

According to the Independent’s Harry Cockburn, the space likely served as military barracks for Emperor Hadrian’s Praetorian Guard and revealed artifacts ranging from human bones to mosaic floors and bronze coins.

Roman mosaic floors have been discovered in the barracks
Roman mosaic floors have been discovered in the barracks

City leaders pledged to preserve the barracks, proposing the creation of Rome’s first “archaeological station” and altering blueprints to integrate the ruins into the modern-day station. Then, in March of this year, archaeologists made another landmark find: the domus, or house, of the barracks’ military commander.

Simona Morretta, the state archaeologist overseeing excavations at Amba Aradam, tells the New York Times’ Povoledo that the home includes 14 separate rooms, a central courtyard and a fountain. The German wire DPA further reports that the roughly 3,200-square-foot home features a bathhouse with underground heating.

The Amba Aradam finds promise to set the stage for what city archaeological head Prosperetti predicts “will surely become the most beautiful metro station in the world.” Morretta reiterated Prosperetti’s proclamation, telling NPR’s Christopher Livesay that everything found at the site will be put on display, turning the stop into “a little museum, with all the barracks in the exact same position.”

The Roman barracks at Amba Aradam
The Roman barracks at Amba Aradam

Currently, the Amba Aradam station is set to open in 2021, but with excavations still underway, there’s always the possibility of chancing upon another ancient structure. For now, visitors to Rome will have to keep themselves occupied with San Giovanni’s array of ancient artifacts, on view indefinitely for the meager price of a metro ticket.

A new Metro station will incorporate the runis
A new Metro station will incorporate the runis