History - Amazing Roman find in Rome

When we visited Rome, we hired an archeologist for some private touring. She talked about the politics of archeological preservation in Rome and the blunders made through government oversight, in addition to the risk of decay and damage because of tourism and exposure to the elements.  

Her opinion - which she said was shared by many other professionals - was that it's better if some sites remain indiscovered and underground.

Wow, I'm quite the Debbie Downer, huh? It IS a cool story/discovery.

I totally see her point.  It's a tough situation.  If they remain unknown, then they stay preserved by their current situation.  However, no one ever sees them or learns from them.   If they unearth them, people can learn from them and admire them, but the same people put them at risk.

I guess in the long run, I'm torn.  I like the idea of there still being things out there that we haven't found and perhaps never will.  But I also like the idea that we can still find history around us, hiding in the midst of our lives, and that means finding and unearthing things.  

Very cool!

That's amazing! Thanks for sharing!

so true.  Some of the philosophical/political changes of Europe from the Renaissance onward were influenced by archeological finds and the texts they found.

Nothing lasts forever.  It would decay underground if left alone.  I find value in being able to learn from the things they dig up.  Yes, we need to be careful and preserve it as best we can.  Sometimes that means let the experts in but no tourists, but I think it's important to let people see history in person rather than just hear about it or see the pictures or even just wonder what's under our feet. 

Thanks for sharing. This is so cool! 

I do understand what AmeliaBloomer is saying. One of the castles I visited when I visited France was built around Roman ruins. All left of the Roman building was some crumbling walls. Archaeologists don't even know what the building was supposed to be because so little was left and the castle was built during the dark ages, so they didn't know what the ruin was supposed to be and didn't write it down. 

I love Roman history. People think that ancient civilizations were backwards and not as knowledgeable as we are now, but there's so much we're learning about Roman history that disputes this. I'm amazed at the gorgeous floors of these barracks. Totally different than our modern barracks. 

I wonder if the guards had to scrub their floors with toothbrushes when they screwed up, too... 

The Romans also had the best way of dealing with rapists. They smashed their balls between two rocks...

Undiscovered = might as well not exist. I vote for discovering, uncovering, and preserving as well as we're able, along with sharing with the public as much as is reasonably possible.

Thanks for the heads up!

Just got back from Rome 2 weeks ago and saw some of what they have uncovered. Amazing!! That whole section near the Colloseum is just so cool! Hopefully they will treat it properly!!

Thanks for sharing