Ancient Roman Villa, Largest of Its Kind, Unearthed in France
The villa was discovered in Burgundy and is believed to have once belonged to an aristocratic Roman who owned a great deal of land in the area. The site has been recognized as an archaeological site since the 19th century, but proper excavations didn't begin until 1966 when one structure, spanning 700 square meters, was unearthed. With the latest discovery, which spans 4,000 m², scientists now believe that the first structure was just one piece of a much larger compound.
The most recent excavation revealed a substantial residential area located near a spacious garden measuring about 900 m², which led to a quadrangular pool on one side and a fountain on the other, both of which were common fixtures of Roman-era garden design. Fencing the garden were colonnaded galleries which led to an assortment of technical rooms, reception halls, and staff quarters, including what was likely a kitchen. The complex's eastern wing was found to contain a large bathing complex.
Researchers believe that the layout suggests the complex was constructed in two or three different phases. Though only part of it has been recovered, it is already one of the most expansive Roman encampments ever discovered in the region. The materials and relics found at the site will undergo further analysis to determine details about the daily lives of the complex's inhabitants.Ancient Roman Villa, Largest of Its Kind, Unearthed in France first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 11, 2025
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National Geographic
9 hours ago
- National Geographic
Did ancient Romans collect fossils too? New discovery offers a clue.
A newly discovered 460-million-year-old trilobite showed signs of being shaped and flattened—the first indication that ancient Romans purposely collected and modified the tiny fossils. A computer simulation of what the trilobite fossil from A Cibdá de Armea may have looked like if it was fashioned into a pendant. Archaeologists say the ancient Romans may have worn the fossil as a protective amulet. Illustration by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025) Few objects capture the modern imagination like fossils, offering glimpses of a world dominated by dinosaurs, massive mammoths and other long-gone ferocious creatures. Even in ancient times, Greeks and Romans were entranced by prehistoric remains—like bones and teeth from large extinct animals—which they venerated in their temples and incorporated into their mythology as Cyclopes or dragons. Now, a newly discovered trilobite trinket from an ancient Roman settlement suggests that humans in classical antiquity were fascinated by these tiny fossils, too. Archeologists have discovered a roughly 460-million-year-old trilobite fossil in the Roman-era site of A Cibdá de Armea in northwestern Spain. The trilobite, which likely originated from a shale bed more than 250 miles away, had been manually shaped and flattened, suggesting that ancient Romans collected and traded such fossils and may have fashioned them into ornaments or jewelry. The roughly 460-million-year-old trilobite fossil found in the Roman-era site came from a fossil bed some 250 miles away, indicating it likely arrived at the settlement via trade. Photograph by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025) The trilobite fossil showed signs of having been manually shaped and flattened. Photograph by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025) Scientists had previously uncovered a trilobite fossil in a French cave in 1886 that may have been used by prehistoric humans as a pendant some 14,000 years ago. But the Armea trilobite, found at a site dating between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, is the earliest known reference to trilobites in classical antiquity, says Fernández-Fernández. It is also the first indication that Romans intentionally gathered and altered these fossils, perhaps into amulets. "If the trilobite had appeared unmodified, it would have had significant value, but its transformation to be set in jewelry gives it much greater scientific value," says Fernández-Fernández. "This gives us an idea of the importance of the fossil as a 'magical' stone." Fossil fascination Trilobites were a diverse group of extinct marine invertebrates that first appeared roughly 520 million years ago and died off about 250 million years ago. Though they varied widely in size and shape, the creatures—which loosely resemble horseshoe crabs—all had three body segments, including their head, thorax, and tail. Their name, "trilobite," refers to the three "lobes" that divide their exoskeletons lengthwise: one central, and two on either side of the spine. The Armea fossil, about an inch or so long, appears to be from the genus Colpocoryphe, which had a smooth hind section. The specimen they found preserves parts of the trilobite's exoskeleton and was flattened on the underside, which the researchers say, suggests it might have been used as a pendant or bracelet. Computer simulations of the Armea trilobite specimen mounted on a leather bracelet. Illustration by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025) The archaeologists recovered the trilobite among thousands of other objects at A Cibdá de Armea, including ceramic pieces, pots, dishes, and vases. It was found in a large, open room that shared a wall with the kitchen and may have been used as a dump area. The Armea fossil is only the eleventh documented instance of a trilobite being excavated and gathered by ancient populations in an archeological context, and only the third from more than a thousand years ago. Many previous examples came from medieval sites and were found out of context, Fernández-Fernández says. "It's fascinating to imagine our ancestors collecting fossils, having the same sort of weird fascination for extinct critters as we do today," says Julien Benoit, a paleontologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa, who was not involved in the paper. The findings could also connect ancient Romans to other populations who made jewelry out of trilobites, like the Ute people of North America, Benoit says. The trilobite fossil was uncovered during an excavation at the Roman settlement site of A Cibdá de Armea in northwestern Spain. Photograph by ArqueoGEAAT/University of Vigo Adrienne Mayor, a historian of ancient science at Stanford University, and author of The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times, calls the discovery a 'highly significant' contribution to historians' understanding of how ancient populations' may have viewed fossils. Mayor, who was not involved in the research, notes that because the trilobite was likely transported to A Cibdá de Armea through trade, the discovery raises questions about whether Romans traded fossils more frequently than historians thought, and whether they understood what fossils are. While Greek and Roman literature references other large fossils, like those of mastodons and mammoths, it's less clear how they perceived trilobites. Larger fossils were "collected, measured, displayed, and interpreted as the remains of mythological monsters, giants, or larger-than-life heroes,' Mayor says. Trilobites, on the other hand, "have an intriguing appearance," resembling an insect or a water creature, she says, leaving one to wonder: "Is that how they were seen in antiquity too?' Fernández-Fernández has a hunch. He hypothesizes that Romans likely wore armored trilobite amulets because they saw them as holding mystical or protective powers. If so, he says, that belief links Roman fascinations to more modern fixations, "because protection through ancient 'magical' stones remains relevant today."
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Radioactive wasp nests at SC nuclear weapons site raise worries about possible contamination, leaks
The buzz about radioactive wasps at a Cold War-era nuclear site in South Carolina just won't die. Investigators found 'hot' nests inside a nuclear weapons facility in South Carolina, with scientists warning it could be evidence of a possible leak or contamination that wasn't previous detected. The US Department of Energy said the nests are not believed to pose a risk to workers or the surrounding community. Advertisement 'This is an indicator that there are contaminants spread across this area that have not been completely encased and protected,' Dr. Timothy Mousseau, a biologist at the University of South Carolina, told the New York Times. 4 Employees who routinely check radiation levels at the Savannah River Site near Aiken found a wasp nest on July 3. AP A total of four contaminated nests have now been found at the facility near Aiken, around 20 miles east of Augusta, Georgia, according to federal officials. Advertisement A first nest was discovered by workers at the Savannah River Site (SRS) — which produced material for nuclear weapons during the Cold War — in early July, as disclosed in a report from the Department of Energy, which owns the site. The discovery of a further three radioactive wasp nests 'indicate[s] that much greater effort must be made to assess the possible risks and hazards of what appears to be a significant source of radioactive pollutants,' Mousseau, who has studied the effect of radiation on wildlife in Chernobyl and Fukushima, told the Times. 'This could indicate that there is some new or old radioactive contamination that is coming to the surface that was unexpected,' he said. Wasps usually don't venture farther than 100 yards from their nests — so Mousseau said the risk of a member of the public being stung by a radioactive wasp is low. Advertisement He suggested that one simple explanation for the radiation readings on that nest is that the insects found a discarded piece of contaminated wood and used some of the pulp to build their nests This isn't the first time evidence of contamination of local wildlife was found at the site. 4 The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. andRiU – In 2017, radioactive bird droppings were discovered on the roof of a building at the site, raising fears the animals were carrying nuclear contamination over large distances, according to a Department of Energy report at the time. Advertisement Officials say the radiation levels in the nests are low, and no risk is posed to workers. 4 The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said. Getty Images/fStop 'The US Department of Energy is managing the discovery of four wasp nests with very low levels of radioactive contamination,' the manager of the Energy Department's office at Savannah River, Edwin Deshong, said in a statement. 'The nests do not pose a health risk to SRS workers, the community, or the environment,' he said. Workers at the site uncovered the first radioactive wasp nest close to a tank used to store nuclear waste. 4 If there had been wasps found, they would have significantly lower levels of radiation than their nests. ptoscano – 'The wasp nest was sprayed to kill wasps, then bagged as radioactive waste,' the federal report read. 'The ground and surrounded area did not have any contamination.' Advertisement The Savannah River Site was built in the 1950s at the start of the Cold War to produce materials for nuclear and hydrogen weapons, including plutonium and tritium. After the end of the Cold War, production of material for nuclear weapons slowed down considerably. In 1996, the Department of Energy began cleaning up the site, although progress has been slow. Cleanup is not expected to be completed until 2065, according to the Department of Energy.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Russian nuclear submarine base hit by tsunami
Russia's far east nuclear submarine base appears to have been damaged by the tsunami that swept the country's Pacific coast on Wednesday, according to satellite imagery obtained by The Telegraph. The waves, triggered by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, hit the Rybachiy base in Kamchatka peninsula, which houses most of the nuclear submarines in Russia's Pacific Fleet. A section of one pier has bent away from its original position, possibly indicating that it was detached from its moorings, images taken by the Umbra Space satellite on Thursday morning have revealed. It does not appear that a submarine was moored alongside at the time of impact and experts said damage to the structure alone would have little military significance. However, questions were raised about whether the tsunami caused any further harm to the base, which was thought to have been hit within 15 minutes of the earthquake. The nuclear submarines housed there, including newer Borei-class craft and Soviet-era Deltas, are the closest to the US aside from those on forward deployment. Rybachiy sits inside Avacha Bay, around 75 miles west from the earthquake's epicentre. Also in the bay are the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky naval base, and separate missile-loading and shipyard facilities. Footage recorded elsewhere on Russia's eastern coast showed waves up to five metres high swamping the shore. Heavy damage can be seen in the port of Severo-Kurilsk, around twice as far from the earthquake's epicentre as Avacha Bay. In satellite photographs taken on July 17, a submarine can be seen moored at the pier that now appears to have been damaged. In both sets of imagery, a surface ship is moored on the western side of the pier. Umbra Space uses synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which can penetrate the cloud cover that has prevented other systems from gaining a clear picture of the tsunami's impact on Rybachiy. Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said that there was no sign of any damage to the submarine fleet. 'It looks like it was a surface ship that was moored at the pier rather than a submarine, which is noteworthy,' he said. 'I'm not sure we can really ascertain more than that a pier was damaged, [which] I suspect probably won't change the tempo of activity [at the base] much at all.' The pier has been left at a 'terrible angle', said Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, which would make it awkward for a ship to enter or exit. There appears to be a tugboat by the tip of the twisted section, he added, which could be involved in initial repairs. 'If the base assumption is that a wave got in there and bent that jetty then yes, what else did it do?' Mr Sharpe asked. Submarines could be damaged by smacking hard into their moorings and water could enter open hatches or access points. In separate Umbra imagery shared online, two submarines can be seen still moored at their piers after the tsunami. Boats undergoing maintenance would be particularly vulnerable to powerful waves, unable to set sail and escape. Credit: east2west However, experts stressed there was no sign of damage to the craft and the piers used by nuclear submarines are designed to withstand seismic impacts. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's chief spokesman, said the 'earthquake resistance' of buildings and functioning alert system had ensured there were no casualties across Kamchatka. A retired Russian navy officer, who told the War Zone website he had not heard of any serious harm to Rybachiy, said: 'These bases were designed and built with the possibility of a nuclear attack by the enemy in mind.' The facility would have been shielded somewhat by the geography of the bay. Even minor damage to the base, however, has led some to question whether Moscow is wise to harbour so many of its Pacific Fleet assets in a single location. 'This is why having multiple bases is a good idea, because you never know when you're going to get rogered by something you haven't seen coming,' said Mr Sharpe. The Russian navy might also reconsider the construction standards of the apparently damaged pier. While the other nine at the base are built entirely out of concrete, a lengthy top section of that one appears to be a floating extension. 'It looks classically Russian,' Mr Sharpe said. 'Taped on.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
