A Lost Roman City Has Been Discovered in Southern France

For the primary time in over m years, archeologists have laid eyes on the traditional Roman town of Ucetia, which is decked with some surprisingly well-preserved mosaics. 

The discovery by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) was made near modern-day Uzès within the south of France during the development of a faculty. The 4,000-square-meter (43,056-square-foot) site contains artifacts starting from the republic era (1st century BCE) to the late antiquity (7th century), all through to the center Ages.

The town’s existence was first hinted at when researchers found an inscription saying Ucetia on a stone slab in nearby Nîmes. some isolated fragments and mosaic pieces suggested the location of the mysterious Roman town, but it remained hidden until INRAP began to dig beneath the surface.“Prior to our work, we knew that there had been a Roman city called Ucetia only because its name was mentioned on stela [inscripted stone slab] in Nimes, alongside 11 other names of Roman towns within the area,” Philippe Cayn of INRAP told IBTimes. 

one in all the most findings was a 250-square-meter (2,690-square-foot) area that the researchers believe was a public building, supported the very fact it had been once lined with grand columns. This building also features two large multi-colored mosaics with patterns, symbols,

 and animals, including an owl, duck, eagle, and fawn. Preliminary research says this building stood strong until the tip of the first century CE.Cayn added: "This quite elaborate mosaic pavement is commonly found within the Roman world within the 1st and 2nd centuries, but this one dates back to about 200 years before that, 

so this is often surprising."Another important discovery was a 500-square-meter (5,381-square-foot) urban dwelling, which contains mosaic decorations of geometrical patterns and dolphins. This building also contains several large dolia, large wine vessels, which implies wine was produced here. The archeologists believe there's still plenty of labor to try and do and hope to continue their research on the positioning over the approaching years. the location is going to be a part of a peer-reviewed study once all the mandatory groundwork is finished and dusted.