Italy’s forgotten Roman town is FOUND after 1,500 years: Archaeologists discover the remains of a once-thriving metropolis that was home to 2,000 people – and even gained the backing of Julius Caesar
It remained abandoned for about 1,500 years, and is a lost remnant of the Roman era.
But a forgotten town dating back to the days of Julius Caesar has finally been discovered in central Italy.
Experts say Interamna Lerinas, located about halfway between Rome and Nabis, was a “boom” Roman city that could have housed 2,000 people at its peak.
Although in the 1980s archaeologists considered it only a small settlement, it was a large city complete with dwellings, a temple, baths, and a roofed theatre.
Unlike Pompeii and Herculaneum, it was not destroyed by a natural disaster and was only abandoned in the 6th century AD due to the threat of invasion.
A drone view of the excavations of the two pedestrian walkways lining the street separating the church (top) and the theater (bottom) at Interamna Llerenas
The site of Interamna Lerinas occupies the southern promontory of a river terrace in the middle of the Liri Valley, an essential route of communications across central Italy
The experts focused on pottery and building foundations from excavations, in addition to the results of geophysical surveys of the earth.
Excavations at the site began in 2010, but the results have only now been published.
The 13-year study was authored by Dr Alessandro Lunaro at the School of Classics at the University of Cambridge.
“Intramna Llerenas was strategically located between a river and a major road and served as a thriving node in the regional urban network,” he said.
“It would have been valuable because it sought to consolidate support throughout Italy during the civil wars.
“This city has consistently played its cards right, always forging ties with communities between Rome and southern Italy while thriving as a commercial centre.”
Interamna Lerinas was founded in 312 BC, during the Roman Republic (the era before the mighty Roman Empire).
The city gained the patronage of the Roman general Julius Caesar in 46 BC, two years before his murder (leading to the formation of the Roman Empire in 27 BC).
But Interamna Lirenas was abandoned in the 6th century – about 100 years after the collapse of the empire.
According to Dr. Lunaro, this city has managed to “resist the trend” of the empire's decline, but exactly how is unclear.
He told MailOnline: “We believe that local and regional networks (political, social and economic) have proven resilient and have allowed life to continue.”
Interamna Lerinas was home to a number of impressive buildings that no longer stand, and only their foundations are now visible following excavations.
Specifically, the roofed theatre, built with marble imported from around the Mediterranean, measured about 150 by 85 feet and would have been large enough to seat 1,500 people.
This aerial shot shows the remains of the theater (bottom) and a public building called the basilica (top)
An artist's depiction of the theater, which seats about 1,500 and whose roof extends 80 feet, enough to put it in line with some of the largest roofs in the Roman world
An artist's impression of the interior of the Interamna Lirenas Theater from the seating area, showing the scene, the front of the theatre
Roofed theaters were very rare in Roman Italy, and were seen as an important upgrade over open structures, according to Dr. Lunaro.
“This theater was a major status symbol,” he said.
“It demonstrated the city's wealth, strength and ambition.”
Next to the theater is a public building called the basilica, usually used for governmental or legal purposes.
The city also boasted three bath complexes, the largest of which included a large swimming pool surrounded by a colonnade, a kind of elaborate balcony.
Like Pompeii and Herculaneum, Interamna Lerinas shows no sign of zoning or separation by social status and was crowded with houses of various sizes.
In all, 190 homes in town (or 84 percent) were small (less than 5,380 square feet), 25 were larger (between 5,380 and 10,700 square feet) and only five were larger than 10,700 square feet.
The team also found 19 “courtyard buildings” that they believe may have served as indoor market buildings, guild houses, residential complexes and public warehouses.
The experts focused on the pottery (photo) and building foundations that were discovered during the excavations, in addition to the results of geophysical surveys of the land.
This snapshot from drone footage captured in September 2023 shows a stunning view of the 'Invisible City', which has historically been overlooked by experts
Geophysical survey results show underground traces of Interamna Lirenas surrounded by the broader Pliocene landscape
Interamna Lirenas diagram showing the distribution of different building types. Note the predominance of housing
Dr Lunaro and his colleagues did not find a layer of ash or any other evidence to suggest that the city was destroyed as violently as Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Alternatively, the population may have abandoned the city amid “growing insecurity” about whether the area was safe, sometime in the 6th century.
The academic indicates that the invasion of the Germanic people known as the Lombards occurred in the late sixth century AD.
It is suggested that the inhabitants of the town of Interamna Llerinas knew that they were on a direct route that was intended to be used by the Lombard armies.
However, the size of the city has gradually decreased over the past two centuries.
Dr. Lunaro's study appears in the edited volume of a new book published today entitled Roman architecture in Italy.
The life (and horrific death) of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was a politician and general of the late Roman Republic who lived from 100 to 44 BC.
Julius Caesar was a politician and general of the late Roman Republic who lived from 100 to 44 BC (artistic impression)
As a general from 60 to 68 BC, Caesar added all of modern France and Belgium to the Roman Empire, crushing rebellious Gallic forces across Europe in the Gallic Wars.
In all, he made two voyages to Britain, in 55 BC and 54 BC, although he never established an occupying force.
Caesar returned to Italy a hero, crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC without disbanding his army, and insulted the authority of the Roman Senate.
In the civil war that followed, Caesar defeated the Republican forces, and took control of the empire as a dictator.
He used his power to implement much-needed reforms, relieving debts, expanding the Senate, building the Forum of Ilium, and revising the calendar.
Caesar's ambition and success ultimately led to his downfall when he was assassinated by a group of Republican senators in 44 BC.
Julius Caesar was stabbed (23 times) to death in the Roman Senate led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus and 60 other conspirators.
On his way to the Theater of Pompey where he was to be assassinated, the powerful Caesar visited a seer who predicted that harm would come to him no later than mid-March.
“The middle of March has come,” Caesar joked, to which the seer replied, “Yes, Caesar, but he is not gone.”
His wife, Calpurnia, had dreamed of his body dripping with blood and tried to prevent him from leaving the house.
When Caesar took his seat in the Senate, conspirators gathered around him. Then one of them grabbed a purple toga and tore it away from his neck.
A dagger was thrust into Caesar's throat but missed and only injured him.
Then another killer stuck a dagger in his chest as he walked away from the first attacker.
Brutus hit Caesar in the groin. It was later written that Brutus was rebuked in Greek with the words “You too, my child?”
(tags for translation) Daily Mail