In a glimpse into the future of archeology, researchers have used ground-penetrating radar to map an entire ancient Roman city, detecting remarkable details of buildings still deep underground including a temple and a unique public monument. The technology was used at Falerii Novi, a walled city spanning 30.5 hectares about 50 kilometres north of Rome, researchers said on Monday. It marked the first time a complete ancient city was mapped using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), which lets researchers explore large-scale archeological sites expeditiously without excavation, which can be costly and time-consuming. A slice of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data from the ancient Roman city of Falerii Novi in Italy revealing the outlines of the town's buildings is shown in this image released on June 8, 2020. The city also had a network of water pipes running beneath the city blocks and not just along streets, indicating coordinated city planning.

Source: CBC News June 08, 2020 23:03 UTC