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A team of researchers from MIT and Harvard University, working with laboratories in Italy and Switzerland, has made progress in understanding how concrete used by the ancient Romans has lasted for millennia. The discovery, outlined in a new paper published in the journal Science Advances, centers... View full entry
A massive Roman mosaic was unearthed in Syria, marking what some experts said was the most important archaeological discovery in the country in the last 20 years. The mosaic was found in the town of Rastan, outside Homs, Syria’s third largest city. Rastan was an important stronghold of anti-government forces and saw some of the fiercest clashes between the Syrian military and rebels. The region, which is rich in cultural heritage, was retaken by the Syrian government in 2018. — ARTnews
As reported by ARTnews, the mosaic was discovered within a site that dates back to the 4th century CE. Syria’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums had been excavating the location. The mosaic spans around 1,300 square feet, with each panel fashioned with small colorful stones that... View full entry
The real value of one of the world’s most well-recognized historic sites is now officially set after the global financial consultancy Deloitte published their assessment of Rome’s ancient Colosseum on Monday. According to Deloitte, the nearly 2,000-year-old Flavian amphitheater is worth... View full entry
A proposed monument for a historic Army barracks could "harm" remains of an ancient Roman chariot racing track, Historic England said. The Roman Circus, a scheduled ancient monument in Colchester, Essex, shares a site with the Royal Artillery Barracks. An application has been submitted for a monument and two blue plaques to recognise the barracks as one of the earliest in the Colchester Garrison. — BBC News
According to the Local Democracy Report Service, the Roman chariot-racing track is the only one of its kind in Britain and one of only six unearthed in northern Europe. Historic England, the public body that looks over England’s historic environment, does not believe the proposed commemorative... View full entry
Italy’s highest administrative court has definitively barred McDonald’s from building a 10,000 sq. m outlet in the shadow of the third-century Baths of Caracalla, one of Rome’s most celebrated ancient sites. Published on 28 December, the council of state’s ruling upheld the verdict of a lower court preventing the fast food chain from using a tract of land adjacent to the baths to open a drive-through restaurant and parking area. — The Art Newspaper
The court also stated that government authorities are entitled to halt future development projects in or around other important heritage sites. As reported by The Art Newspaper, the Lazio region and the Italian culture ministry can now suspend works in not only existing heritage sites but in... View full entry
The Domus Aurea in Rome is open once again with a new feature following a 14-month hiatus after the coronavirus pandemic forced the 2,000-year-old palace’s shutdown. Stefano Boeri Architetti helped welcome back the public with an improved ramp and new entryway featuring an exhibition titled... View full entry
A newly restored Hypogeum has been unveiled in Rome over the weekend, opening the catacombs of the famed Colosseum to the public for the first time in its 2,000-year history. The Italian Ministry of Culture has announced that the little-seen section is finally open thanks to a decades-long... View full entry
The floor of Rome’s Colosseum, where gladiators once fought against each other and wild animals, is set to be restored to its former glory.
Milan Ingegneria, a structural engineering and architecture firm, has won an €18.5m (£16m) bid to build and install a retractable arena floor that will allow visitors “to see the majesty of the monument” from its centre, culture minister Dario Franceschini said on Sunday.
— The Guardian
Plans for the arena floor restoration of the Roman Colosseum (completed in AD80 under Emperor Titus) first appeared on Archinect in January. Concept for the new Colosseum arena floor. Video via MiC_Italia on YouTube. Milan Ingegneria's concept of a retractable arena floor allows the structure... View full entry
The Italian culture ministry is offering the €10 million project to the designer who can turn the clock back 2,000 years to when 35,000 Romans bayed for blood in the ancient stadium. — The Times
According to The Times, "Italy is looking for a brilliant engineer to reinstall the Colosseum arena floor, complete with trapdoors and the hidden lifts that allowed wild animals to leap out and menace gladiators." Previously on Archinect: Mayor-less Rome's logistical battle to invest in its... View full entry
Researchers said on Saturday they had discovered a frescoed thermopolium or fast-food counter in an exceptional state of preservation in Pompeii.
The ornate snack bar, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year but archaeologists extended work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.
— The Guardian
The astonishingly well preserved and nearly 2,000-year-old snack bar, or Thermopolium, in Pompeii's Regio V has re-emerged in its entirety, along with food residues, animal bones, and victims of the AD 79 volcanic eruption, following a lengthy excavation effort. View this post on Instagram A post... View full entry
The House of the Beautiful Courtyard at Herculaneum and the House of the Cryptoporticus in Pompeii will each be the site of a new installation by artist Catrin Huber, as part of a Newcastle University project designed to create a new dialogue between contemporary art, Roman wall painting and archaeological remains. — Apollo Magazine
Expanded Interiors at Herculaneum. Photo: Amedeo Benestante."By investigating two distinctive Roman houses, our project sets out an exchange of knowledge between old and new," the Expanded Interiors project website explains. "We are exploring what Contemporary painting and site-specific fine-art... View full entry
A major Roman settlement discovered south of Lyon in France is the “most exceptional excavation of a Roman site in 40 or 50 years”, says the chief archaeologist working on the project. Benjamin Clément, who works for the Swiss conservation company Archeodunum, is leading a team of 15 archaeologists at the dig in Saint Colombe, a small town near the city of Vienne. — The Art Newspaper
The well-preserved ancient Roman neighborhood, dubbed "Little Pompeii" by the archaeologists, covers an area of almost 7,000 square meters (75,000 square feet) and was discovered during construction of a housing complex near the city of Vienne. View full entry
Modern, steel-embedded concrete seawalls tend to need repair after a few decades of erosion from the endless procession of waves, but the Roman pier at Portus Cosanus in Orbetello, Italy has remained solid for almost two thousand years. Scientists have finally figured out the missing ingredient... View full entry
During an excavation for a new office development at 21 Lime Street, a team from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) found the millimeter-thin fresco nearly 20 feet below street level. Dating to the late 1st century AD, and the first decades of London, it’s one of the earliest surviving frescos from Roman Britain. [...]
The rare, ornate wall painting is likely to have decorated a reception room for party guests at the home of a wealthy Roman citizen.
— hyperallergic.com
A statement issued by MOLA explained, “The fate of this rare wall painting was literally sealed in the ground ... In AD 100, construction of the 2nd Forum Basilica, the main civic center for the city and the largest Roman building ever built north of the Alps, began. In advance of construction... View full entry
While some residents may be more concerned about their overflowing rubbish bins than maintaining ancient monuments, for many the survival of modern Rome will depend on the preservation of the past. — The Guardian
As Rome moves forward without a mayor, the city is taking on the restoration of both the Colosseum and the Porta Maggiore basilica while updating the modern city.More about Rome on Archinect:Was Rome really a "City of Marble"?A breakneck tour of contemporary architecture in RomeContemporary Art... View full entry
