A network of tunnels that make up what appears to be an underground city have been discovered buried deep beneath the villa of Emperor Hadrian near Rome.
Archaeospeleologists have begun charting the underground roads and believe the passageways would have been used by carts and wagons pulled by oxen to transport slaves, food and other goods below the estate's 296 acres of land out of sight from the Emperor.
The villa at Tivoli, near Rome, was built by Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd Century AD and was made up of 30 buildings such as palaces, living quarters, spas, pavilions and libraries, each surrounded by ornate gardens, pools and fountains.
Archaeologists have mapped more than a mile of
tunnels, right, discovered beneath Hadrian's Villa in Rome used to
transport slaves, cattle and food out of sight from the Emperor Hadrian.
The main tunnel, pictured left, runs for half a mile to a 700 metre
circular spur that may have been used to turn carts around
Enlarge
This map shows the layout of Hadrian's villa
estate. The first tunnels to be discovered at the start of this century
are marked in blue and travel from the Piazza to the Grand Trapeze. The
second, red tunnels travel away from the Grand Trapeze. The green roads
travel underground from the entrance hall to the piazza. The yellow line
is the newly-discovered tunnel that is 2.4-metres wide and dubbed The
Great Underground Road
Experts believe this spur may have been used as a turning circle for the carts and wagons.
The passage has been dubbed Strafa Carrabile, which means Great Underground Road in Italian, and is larger than the other tunnels previously discovered under the estate.
It was uncovered when archaeologists found a hole buried beneath bushes and plants along a pathway to the main gallery.
Because some sections of the tunnel are blocked by debris and rocks that have fallen into them over time, the archaeologists also used wire-controlled robots fitted with cameras to explore regions they couldn't reach.
Another, larger tunnel was also found during the exploration that is 16-foot wide and could have been used as a dual road.
The main tunnel, mapped by caver Marco Placidi,
pictured, and a team from the Sotteranei di Roma association runs in a
north-easterly direction before switching south beneath the 296 acres of
the Hadrian Villa's estate
WHAT HAPPENED TO HADRIAN'S VILLA?
It was used as a retreat for Roman Emperor Hadrian during 2nd Century AD. The villa was started in 117AD.
Towards the end of his reign, Hadrian governed the empire from the villa and built a court in order to have official meetings.
When the Roman Empire fell the palace was looted and damaged but the underground network is 'almost intact'.
The estate is made of over 30 building covering around 296 acres and includes palaces, thermae's (spas), theatres, temples, libraries, slave and courtier quarters.
There is also a pool and an artificial grotto named Canopus and Serapeum, respectively (pictured).
It was named after the Egyptian city of Canopus where a temple, called Serapeum, was dedicated to the god Serapis.
In 1998, archaeologists discovered a temple built in honour of god Antinous.
The villa was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1999 and officials are working to clear the tunnels and offer tours of the passageways by the end of the year.
The villa was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1999 and officials are working to clear the tunnels so they can offer tours of the passageways by the end of the year.
Archaeologists realised there was a network of roads under the estate because wells were situated along the paths every 50ft in a uniform pattern.
It was originally believed that a single road travelled from the terrace of the Venus of Cnidus statue in the grounds to the circular spur.
The new tunnel entrance discovered suggests that there were also alternative underground routes.
Other discoveries include the footprint of a baby on the cover plate at the end of one tunnel as well as a shell from the Red Sea found beneath the Serapeum, or religious temple.
Some of the tunnels under Hadrian's Villa were
too small for the team to fully explore so the archaeospeleologists used
wire-mounted robots fitted with cameras to track and map the areas they
couldn't reach
One of the many thermae, or spas, located in the
ground of Hadrian's Villa. When the Roman Empire fell the palace was
looted and damaged but the underground network is 'almost intact'
Archaeologists realised there was a network of
roads under the estate because wells were situated along the paths every
50ft in a uniform pattern
Emperor Hadrian, who also built Hadrian's Wall in the north of England, designed his villa based on palaces he'd seen in Egypt and Greece.
The villa was started in 117AD. When the Roman Empire fell the palace was looted and damaged but the underground network is 'almost intact'.
Vittoria Fresi told Il Messagero newspaper, 'The underground network helps us to understand the structures that are above ground.'
'All the majesty of the villa is reflected in the subsoil. An authentic villa parading parallel below, designed by Hadrian, which served to make even more spectacular monuments.'
Archaeologists have mapped more than a mile
of tunnels discovered beneath Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, pictured, that
was used to transport slaves, cattle and food out of sight from the
Emperor Hadrian. The main tunnel is 2.4 metres wide and runs for half a
mile to a 700 metre circular spur that may have been used to turn carts
around
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