Rome Sinkhole Makes Extraordinary Archaeological Find

Another Rome sinkhole has appeared, this time, in front of the Pantheon in Piazza della Rotonda and in it, archaeologists have made the unexpected ‘rediscovery’ of an ancient imperial floor consisting of seven travertine slabs.

Built by Agrippa between 27 and 25 BC, the Piazza della Rotonda is a great square which opens out in front of the famous Pantheon, the temple dedicated to all the Roman gods , and this open social space was entirely transformed in the second century AD by the Emperor Hadrian , at which time the level of the piazza was raised and it was all repaved.

Archaeologists have reported finding ancient masonry about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) beneath the existing level of the piazza, which was first uncovered during works in the 1990s, and after it had been documented by archaeologists at the time it was covered over. But now, more than two decades after its original discovery, the slabs of the ancient floor “emerge intact, protected by a layer of fine pozzolan,” said Daniela Porro, special superintendent of Rome in a Wanted In Rome article.

Read the rest of this article...