Some Guy Discovers Roman Villa on Google Earth

[livius drusus]

From computer nerd to Indiana Jones (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4267238.stm).

Computer programmer Luca Mori found the remains of an ancient Roman villa when he browsed Google Earth maps showing satellite images of his local area.

His curiosity was sparked by unusual shading by his home in Sorbolo, Parma.

He contacted local archaeologists who investigated and confirmed it was once the location of a Roman villa.

"At first I thought it was a stain on the photograph," 47-year-old Mr Mori explained. "But when I zoomed in, I saw that there was something under the earth."

I scrutinized Sorbolo on Google Earth myself and couldn't see a damn thing, and I knew what I was looking for. Luca (I wonder if he lives on the second floor?) has some keen eyes, no question about it.

[viscousmemories]

That's very cool.

[fragment]

That's cool. With lots of people looking at google maps, perhaps we'll see a rise in the number of new sites to be discovered. There's probably still lots of unknown stuff in the dirt waiting to be discovered.

A year ago I spent a day helping to excavate this Roman villa (http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Abbey%20farm.htm) in Kent. Well, one of the out-buildings actually, they'd done the main villa in previous seasons. I think it's the one that page refers to as Building 4, I couldn't quickly find more recent info unfortunately. It was an interesting day. Because I know nothing of fieldwork, I spent it pushing wheelbarrows of dirt around, but got to watch the excavation unfold. Uncovered were bits of the drainage system, including lead joints from the pipes, a dog skeleton, a few bits of pottery, and numerous bits of wall, some of it painted. It was a cool day, it would be fun to do more of this some day.

[JoeP]

Yes, I think I've heard him before

[Clutch Munny]

He stares at Google many nights
Detecting ancient Roman sites
Just don't ask liv where they are
Just don't ask liv where they are
Just don't ask liv where they are

[livius drusus]

Oh Clutch... :bow:

[cappuccino]

I just downloaded google earth and...forget doing any more work for today :worship:

[cappuccino]

:yay: I found the Roman villa!

[livius drusus]

You lucky bastich. I demand a screen cap!

[fragment]

:yay: I found the Roman villa!For an extra 50 points, find another...

[cappuccino]

Here's the cap!

It took some deduction based on the news article because the guy said that he could see the mark and zoomed into the map to see it better so I realized it had to be in the high resolution area just northwest of the Sorbolo town.

And there was a dark oval shape just like they said in the article.

[cappuccino]

:yay: I found the Roman villa!For an extra 50 points, find another...

Here's another Roman villa :) I'll take the 50 points now.

[livius drusus]

Here's the cap!

It took some deduction based on the news article because the guy said that he could see the mark and zoomed into the map to see it better so I realized it had to be in the high resolution area just northwest of the Sorbolo town.

And there was a dark oval shape just like they said in the article.

You're just too cool for school, Demosthenes. I've gotta give you a big :bow: for this one.

[fragment]

Here's another Roman villa :) I'll take the 50 points now.Preferably one previously unknown to the modern world :glare:

[cappuccino]

Here's another Roman villa :) I'll take the 50 points now.Preferably one previously unknown to the modern world :glare:

teehee you failed to stipulate that in the first place. :wink:

Oh alright since I'm so nice, I'll go and look for an hidden villa.

[cappuccino]

Here's the cap!

It took some deduction based on the news article because the guy said that he could see the mark and zoomed into the map to see it better so I realized it had to be in the high resolution area just northwest of the Sorbolo town.

And there was a dark oval shape just like they said in the article.

You're just too cool for school, Demosthenes. I've gotta give you a big :bow: for this one.

:vibes: haha thanks. It was fun, makes me want to go there and see it in person the next time I'm in Italy.

[fragment]

teehee you failed to stipulate that in the first place. :wink:

Oh alright since I'm so nice, I'll go and look for an hidden villa.
Gotta say congratulations on spotting the Sorbola one though, good job. Now you know what to look for. :wink:

I'll also be satisfied with Hittite ruins, Scythian burial mounds, Harappan sites, pre-Mayan meso-american sites, anything like that...