“Hidden for Millennia: Scientists Unveil Secrets of a Lost Roman City with Revolutionary Laser Technology!”

"Hidden for Millennia: Scientists Unveil Secrets of a Lost Roman City with Revolutionary Laser Technology!"
Ground Penetrating Radar And Quad Bike

Verdonck et al., 2020/AntiquityThe GPR took readings every five inches, and was towed by a quad bike.

Falerii Novi is around half as large as Pompeii. Fortunately, it hasn’t been built over, which made the scanning process rather easy. To do so, researchers simply towed a series of antennae over the ground by riding a quad bike across the site. This array of antennae took readings every five inches.

The approach is fairly similar to standard radar technology and essentially sends radio waves into the ground. By hitting and bouncing off objects and their surfaces, their echoes reveal how deep certain surfaces are compared to others — and thereby create a detailed, three-dimensional picture.

The water system’s construction revealed it was built before the structures atop were — instead of running along the grid of streets. This foresight in planning was enacted “in a way that’s familiar today, but not expected, I think, in the third century B.C.,” explained Millett.

The public monument, meanwhile, was nearly 200 feet long and lined with colonnades. It contained two smaller structures with niches allowing for fountains and statues. Millett was naturally stunned at the find, and claimed “no one I’ve yet shown it to yet knows what it is.”

Theater At Falerii Novi

Verdonck et al., 2020/AntiquityThe ancient theater at Falerii Novi.

Though still mysteries in its function, Millett believes it likely stemmed from cultural and religious practices of the Faliscan people — those who occupied this region of Italy before it was conquered by Rome.

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