Students at a local high school in Rome had long known of the mysterious underground passages that lay beneath the ground, but finally, a protest stirred the school, authorities were informed, and they discovered an ancient Roman villa.

Cavour Scientific High School is located about a five-minute walk from the Colosseum, and it sits on the site of the recently identified Roman villa. Built in the 19th century as a missionary complex, the school embodies layers of history for which Rome is known.

For years, students quietly shared stories about the rooms, artwork, and passages beneath the gymnasium. As time went on, these tales grew more elaborate, leading the school administration to take them less seriously, according to Popular Mechanics.

The situation escalated when the students staged a protest during COVID. Locking themselves into school, these restless teenagers roamed the premises unsupervised. They explored the underground passageways beneath the gymnasium, seeking to prove the validity of their claims. A curious teacher, Claudia Marino, heard the fervor in their accounts and took a group of adventurous students through an iron door.

They found themselves in an old boiler room, and as they ventured deeper into this unused chamber, they encountered ancient Roman walls. Continuing through a narrow passage, they stumbled upon an intact domus, or villa.

Archaeologists from the Special Superintendency of Rome began excavations a few years later in September 2025.

A family villa in an ancient affluent neighborhood

The ancient residence first came to light in 1895 when Via degli Annibaldi was constructed. At that time, archaeologists uncovered sections of the building as well as a water pipe inscribed with the family name, Umbrius. However, further excavation did not take place, and the ancient villa faded into obscurity.

Graffiti from the 1940s and 1950s, however, indicates that students had long left their mark on someone else’s house, but the secret held among the youth never seeped into adult consciousness until the Romans took to the streets.

Once the protests signaled the villa’s existence, archaeologists were eager to investigate because the school is positioned in an exclusive neighborhood in Rome where ancient prominent figures lived: Cicero, Pompey, Octavian, Emperor Augustus, and more, according to Archaeology News.

Excavation officially began in January 2026, with an announcement made on May 28 confirming that the students had discovered a mid-Imperial domus, which was subsequently named Domus Liceo Cavour. Dating to the mid-second century CE, it indeed belonged to the Umbrius family, originally from south-central Italy.

Future employment for students

Archaeologists left the site with 48 crates of artifacts, including wall paintings, decorative elements, and a notable mosaic of large, irregularly shaped tiles—designs that were popular in the second century CE.

The villa’s exceptional preservation prompted the Italian Ministry of Culture to describe the paintings as “spectacular” and in need of full excavation, according to Popular Mechanics. It is likely that the grounds extend into the school’s courtyard, so further exploration is planned.

The project aims to open the site to visitors, with students serving as tour guides—a thoughtful conclusion that honors those who discovered and appreciated this piece of history.

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This just in from Hadrian’s Villa: archaeologists uncovered an underground villa dating to the Republican period, the oldest construction ever found to date at the massive, imperial complex.

Archaeologists continue to make groundbreaking discoveries at 300-acre Hadrian’s Villa, under investigation since 2003. From its earliest foundations, the daily operation of its vast workforce, and the lavish palatial residence, there seems to be no end in sight to its former glory.

Between April and May this year, at the Palazzo sector of Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, Italy, researchers reached a new milestone, yet again, when they found a structure beneath the Palazzo’s peristyles, a residential area, that revealed an earlier foundation for the site, before Emperor Hadrian took it over to build his splendid, jaw-dropping grounds.

In this newly discovered structure, they identified a hypogeum, an underground storage chamber, according to Archaeology News. From the construction debris and pottery shards, in Hadrian’s day, the structure appeared to archaeologists to have been abandoned. All the same, the artifacts represent the only archaeological finds from the Republican era.

The oldest structure on site

Researchers from the Archaeological Seminar at Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), in collaboration with the Institute of Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este, are spearheading the current archaeological excavation at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

More like a small city, larger than Pompeii, Hadrian’s Palace boasted a sprawling display of 30 monumental buildings, including palaces, libraries, baths, and theaters. It took over a decade to build, about 19 miles from Rome. He chose this location beneath the Tiburtine Hills because it’s a massive, flat valley near ancient aqueducts and the Aniene River, which helped feed and sustain the extensive pools, thermal baths, and elaborate fountains. As Hadrian dabbled in architecture, he even built structures that acted like photographs taken from his favorite locations throughout the empire.

A sight to behold, indeed, Hadrian’s Villa was astounding as a display of wealth, culture, and power. According to researchers, long before Hadrian selected this location in Italy as his grand countryside estate, these remains likely belong to an earlier villa that was incorporated into the foundations of the Palazzo, which has provided archaeologists with a glimpse into its past.

Gardens and more

Along with the hypogeum, researchers also uncovered elaborate gardens that once surrounded the Palazzo. From what archaeologists gathered, the Roman villa garden featured a flowerbed enclosed in a courtyard with rows of packed ceramic pots, as per Ancient Origins. The design was called “ingenious,’ allowing for seamless transitions between the seasons, which revealed the sophistication of their landscaping techniques. Additionally, tree pits were identified to plant shrubs and trees, so the gardens reflected a highly organized layout, and an exceptional group of intact ceramic flowerports, according to Archaeology News.

As gardens contributed to the beauty and splendor of Hadrian’s Villa, the latest discoveries offer an unprecedented insight into how these green spaces were organized and maintained. As excavations are ongoing, who knows what archaeologists might find next at Hadrian’s Villa, whose splendor and glory appear to have no end.

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A new study has established the first-ever evolutionary history of all living millipedes, one of the planet’s first land animals that pioneered its terrestrial ecosystems (as the first chemical weapon manufacturers, too).

At a time when the Earth was bare, when there were no vertebrates, no trees, no leaves, no flowering plants, and no plants with seeds, millipedes were feeding on decaying mosses, decomposed slime, and primordial gunk.

Though that sounds unappetizing, someone had to complete the “dirty work” necessary to pave the way for life. Though they perform an essential function as one of the first animals on Earth, science still hadn’t fully tracked their history until now.

A new, groundbreaking study published in Current Biology addressed a 100-year-old gap in millipede science surrounding two rare groups of millipedes: Siphoniulida and Siphonocryptida.

Scientists knew that they existed, but without specimens for DNA analysis, they couldn’t confirm where they belonged in the millipede family tree.

But it was no easy feat to find them. One group spends its life underground, while the other survives in only a few known locations.

Penetrating 260 million years of history

Researchers traveled to Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, and Spain’s Canary Islands to collect Siphoniulus neotropicus and Hirudicryptus canariensis, two millipedes whose DNA had never before been included in an evolutionary analysis.

“It took 10 people over a week to find one tiny 10-millimeter adult,” said Luisa “Fernanda” Vasquez-Valverde, the paper’s first author, in a press release.

“Finding them in the field was hard because we were just seeing this little white nematode. We didn’t know for sure it was a millipede until we looked under the microscope.” 

After sequencing their DNA, comparing hundreds of genes across 82 millipede species, and combining those results with evidence from 29 fossils, researchers determined where the groups belonged in millipede history and when their lineages emerged.

“Millipedes may have originated nearly 460 million years ago — roughly 35 million years before the oldest known millipede fossils and much earlier than previously believed,” according to the press release.

Siphonocryptida turned out not to be a distinct order after all, but part of an existing lineage. Siphoniulida was finally placed among its closest relatives on the millipede evolution timeline.

All in all, the analysis of the millipede species revealed that the ancient animals originated 460 million years ago, roughly 35 million years before the oldest known millipede fossils, which was “the biggest surprise” to researchers —

“Just how ancient these lineages turned out to be.”

The completed family tree also revealed one of the millipedes’ most important adaptations: they made the first chemical weapons. And it was these defenses that helped scientists trace their origins to about 260 million years ago.

Although the new study brought new insights into one of the planet’s most significant animals, millipedes still hold secrets waiting to be discovered.

Still more to discover

Scientists have described more than 14,000 species worldwide, but experts believe that tens of thousands may still be out there undiscovered.

These “unheralded heroes of the ecosystem” may be one of nature’s most important detritivores — because they break down decaying plant material and return nutrients to ecosystems — but scientists still haven’t fully penetrated this lineage, which is more ancient than the dinosaurs and paved the way on land for vertebrates.

“It’s really kind of puzzling that they have such an important function in the ecosystem, and yet they’re so poorly known,” noted Paul Marek, the study’s lead investigator and associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Entomology.

“Millipedes beat vertebrates onto land by more than 80 million years,” continued Marek. “They really set the stage for later life on land, including humans and vertebrates.”  

“There is all this potential for discovery,” a press release concluded. “It keeps me wondering what else we’re going to find.” 

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A long search has finally concluded: Swiss divers have discovered a legendary Roman-era bridge that researchers have been trying to locate for decades. It may be the only pile trestle of its kind that exists.

As plans were underway to construct a bridge over the Aare River, Swiss archaeologists hired by Cantonal Archaeology conducted routine archaeological investigations in the area near Solothurn, Switzerland, which has long been a subject of interest for archaeologists.

A bridge pier, known as a pile trestle, was believed to have been built in this location. Archaeologists were eager to investigate due to the area’s “strategic geography” and “its position along an important transalpine trade and military route.”

And finally, as construction work would be carried out, archaeologists were hired by Cantonal Archaeology to take the plunge, which they did several times, guided by previous accounts of the presence of “stakes” in the waters. On fins, they came to discover a row of timber piles near Solothurn’s Wengi Bridge.

The piles, just under 6.56 feet long and arranged in the direction of the current, provided the first physical evidence of a pile trestle ever found. Upon analyzing the wood and remnants of the bridge pier, they confirmed its existence, dated it to the 4th century, and established that it was linked to the city’s development as a castrum, or fortified settlement.

A major bridge pier

This long-sought bridge was part of a major road connecting Italy with the Rhine River, according to LBV. Sections of this road had already been identified on either side of the river, suggesting that a bridge must have existed to facilitate crossings.

For years, archaeologists contended that the riverbed near Solothurn could contain a pile trestle due to the unique characteristics of this small municipality in Switzerland. The Aare River narrows at a point near the town, which helped archaeologists estimate where the bridge might have been constructed.

Historically, Salodurum is the Latinized version of a Celtic toponym that means “river narrows” or “gateway of the waves.” Until now, no physical evidence had been found, only rumors of “stakes” underwater.

Previously, it was known that the Romans settled in this area between the 1st and 3rd centuries. In the 4th century, a defensive wall was constructed in response to instability and military pressures, leading to the fortification of urban settlements. This bridge symbolizes an empire striving to protect itself from its ultimate demise.

A system of defense

A castrum wasn’t a town wall, but rather a system, Arkeonews clarified. Solothurn, a picturesque town today, once held strategic importance due to its placement on the Aare. This region was well-developed and interconnected by imperial routes. The Romans built this bridge pier to enhance a gateway crucial for preventing significant losses. The settlement lying beneath the Baroque center even reveals how the Romans intentionally selected this spot for its strategic value.

Because the 1,700-year-old wood would decay if exposed to air, the construction project will not disturb the precious timbers submerged in the river, allowing them to remain in their watery grave. They represent the Roman Empire at a pivotal time in its history.

Archaeologists will continue investigating the bridge, Heritage Daily concludes, and they hope to glean new insights into their methods of construction and how it functioned in this vast network that linked the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

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The University of Manchester has discovered that the world’s largest scorpion, which lived 415 million years ago, was hiding in the museum’s collection for 150 years.

Since the 1870s, researchers have debated the identity of the strange fossil remains lurking in the Manchester archives. They possessed tiny fragments recovered from sites in England and Wales that puzzled them, but they could not piece them together. Was it a large woodlouse-crustacean?

In the 1980s, some research suggested that a scorpion might be the source of the fossil remains. However, this hypothesis faced challenges due to a lack of fossil evidence of its most distinctive feature: its tail.

To resolve the debate, paleontologists conducted a study of the remains using modern imaging and analytical techniques, according to a press release from the University of Manchester. They were “able to build a clearer picture of the animal than was previously possible, which is really exciting.”

The 3.3-foot-long Praearcturus gigas scorpion now joins the ranks of Earth’s ferocious prehistoric beasts, boasting pincers 6.2 inches long. As it roamed the Earth over 400 million years ago, researchers sought to understand the factors that allowed this prehistoric predator to grow to such an astonishing size.

The t.rex of scorpions

According to the study authors, “Along with dinosaurs, mammoths, and other charismatic megafauna, giant arthropods are an iconic symbol of the Earth’s deep paleontological history in popular culture.”

Lead author Dr. Richard J. Howard, Curator of Fossil Arthropods at the Natural History Museum in London, described the imagery often associated with giant arthropods: “Carboniferous rainforests filled with giant millipedes or dragonfly-like insects… but Praearcturus lived at least 50 million years earlier, well before the evolution of trees, when life on land was just beginning.”

In other words, researchers may have identified the T. rex of arthropods nearly two hundred million years before the rise of the dinosaurs. The Praearcturus gigas lived during the Early Devonian period—a time when forests had not yet evolved—so this giant scorpion lived among small plants and fungi, as per the press release.

What did it eat?

Researchers were stunned: how did the scorpion grow to such a size, surrounded by relatively unassuming and unimposing neighbors? The answer lies in its lack of competition. As few large animals were present at that time, Praearcturus was free to become a predatory giant, according to the NYPost.

Furthermore, the “cool” creature, which might inspire a new figurine in a child’s toy collection, may have been partially aquatic, as suggested by its epimera—the descending lateral plates or flaps found on the bodies of crustaceans.

Dr. Howard stated in Live Science, “Without complex ecosystems to support Praearcturus on land, these animals probably spent part of their lives hunting in water.” The Praearcturus was even “before its time,” and its extraordinary size might be explained by one factor: water.

“This places Praearcturus at a pivotal moment in Earth’s history when animals were first experimenting with life outside the oceans,” as per a press release.

 “The boundary between land and sea was much less defined at this time,” Dr Greg Edgecombe, Merit Researcher at the Natural History Museum, London, and co-author of the study, continued. “Praearcturus gives us a fascinating glimpse into how early animals adapted to these changing environments.”

“It may even represent a lineage that returned to the water after earlier ancestors had already begun living on land,” AOL concludes.

You can read the study here.

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The elusive and ancient Wonderwerk Cave has attracted scientific attention for decades for its early human use, but a new study found even older traces of fire in this location.

As the lead author stated from the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, “this is a study of great interest to global prehistory, as it addresses one of the most significant topics for humanity: fire.”

In a new study published in PLOS, researchers analyzed 161 fossils with a new rapid and non-destructive protocol, based on stimulating the bone remains with an external energy source, called luminescence.

Science Media Centre continues that study authors applied this new methodology to the bones of small animals that were part of pellets, or “the undigested and regurgitated remains of prey of nocturnal birds of prey.”

These bones mixed in with these pellets, 1.8 million years old, exhibited signs of having been burned, so the team behind the study is proposing that these pellets were used to make fire inside the Wonderwerk Café, at deeper layers (meaning time) than they thought.

The oldest burnt bones ever

The fossils came from small mammals that researchers recovered from two Early Pleistocene layers, or 30 meters deep. Because this material was found at such profound layers, researchers had to hypothesize that accidental burning would have been impossible.

These animals purportedly wandered into the cave through “barn owl activity,” which refers to owl pellets, which, over thousands of years, piled up. They showed signs of burning.

The novel analytical technique detected any changes in the bones, caused by heat, and cross-examined the results with modern bones as well as Bronze Age material from another site, and they were able to determine that these fossil bones were burned, according to Archaeology News.

Not only were they burnt, but the pattern indicated that the act of burning occurred over time, at specific parts of the cave, so there was some localized event happening again and again. Furthermore, the material in question sat beside tools and other animal remains, with Homo erectus being the early humans working with fire.

But when did humans learn to control fire? Ah, the question

This study touches a pivotal moment in human history, if not the dawn of civilization, technology. The use of fire, as per Heritage Daily, sparked much more than the flame, but advanced human development with new fuel. At this time in history, researchers have failed to find any evidence that humans could make fire themselves.

Traditionally, the oldest fires are believed to be the result of exploiting natural fires. But this new proposal adds a new behavior into the mix, by suggesting this wasn’t a passive act, but deliberate. They didn’t appear to ignite these fires in the cave, but rather they brought them into the cave from outside, on torches. Because, how else would they have transported the flames?

And, for the moment, though this study presents even more thrilling evidence that perhaps humans, at this time, were able to control fire? “Before this article, no fires involving human activity of such antiquity had been recognized,” as per Science Media Center.

However, Heritage Daily concludes, when humans first learned to control fires is still one of the “most fiercely argued questions…” Until then, it seems we were working with fire even earlier in time than we ever even knew.

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