Source of Trajan's aqueduct discovered

[Rokcet Scientist]

The Romans were masters of plumbing on a very grand scale and built massive aqueducts which allowed entire cities to be supplied with fresh water.
Most of them still work today, but the source of one of them has been a mystery that has vexed archaeologists.
Now, after three years of digging, the secret has been revealed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8486518.stm

[kbs2244]

From today’s news page.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/r ... peror.html

What I enjoyed was that it was found by a Brit father and son team of film makers that are amateur archeologists.

You would think that if it was all that important someone “official” would have been looking for it.

It seems it wasn’t that hard to find.
They just asked around town and were told to go look in the old church basement.

[Rokcet Scientist]

It seems it wasn’t that hard to find.
They just asked around town and were told to go look in the old church basement.

They still had to actually go there, incurring cost, and do physical legwork.
Nowadays, if you know how to 'read' the terrain from aerial photography, you can discover pre and post JC buildings, earthworks, canals, etc. etc. from the comfort of your armchair. With Google Earth!

[Minimalist]

I'll wager that it keeps the costs down if you have some idea where to start.

[kbs2244]

No argument RS.

My point is that they cared to do so.

[Rokcet Scientist]

I'll wager that it keeps the costs down if you have some idea where to start.

Everybody's own backyard is a good starting point, Min. Remember that Italian in Naples who discovered a complete roman villa in his backyard with that M.O.?

[ted.oneill]

From today’s news page.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/r ... peror.html

What I enjoyed was that it was found by a Brit father and son team of film makers that are amateur archeologists.
You would think that if it was all that important someone “official” would have been looking for it.
It seems it wasn’t that hard to find.
They just asked around town and were told to go look in the old church basement.

Hello kbs2244,

Can I just clarify that we didn't really FIND something by accident. Yes, we asked around
town and we were told to go look under a broken down church, but the fact is that there was known to
be a bit of old aqueduct under that church.

The truly amazing thing - to me - is that the great archaeologists of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries
Rodolfo Lanciani, Thomas Ashby, Esther Van Deman, didn't see this thing, because we know that they
came within just a 150 metres or so, and it would have augmented their studies significantly if they
had seen it.

What I did, if I did anything of significance myself, was merely to confirm the age of that aqueduct as
Traianic, and find a reference to a letter in the Vatican Archives about the age and copiousness of that
water source, which seems to indicate that the rennaisance church, and perhaps the early church knew
quite a lot about it, and then take an archaeologist with a significant reputation there - Lorenzo Quilici -
who was able to see the vaults and immediately exclaim "It's ALL Roman" - so revealing that this isn't
a roman site hidden UNDER the Church, but the church was built WITHIN the Roman construction.

For more information please take a peep at the evidence that the Rogue Classicist has posted on
our behalf: http://rogueclassicism.com/2010/02/01/s ... a-traiana/

You are also welcome to view our video trailers at: http://www.vimeo.com/meonhdtv

My best wishes from Rome,

Ted O'Neill
Director, Roman Aqueducts Project
MEON HDTV Productions

[ted.oneill]

No argument RS.

My point is that they cared to do so.

Thankyou. Yes, we cared, and were excited enough by this stuff to research it all. It took a lot of research!

[Minimalist]

Dear Ted,

Thanks for taking the time to post. We have noted in the past that sometimes reporters or their editors get a tad carried away.


And then sometimes they go completely off the deep end!