The empire’s 300,000-kilometer road network was stranger and less Rome-centered than legend suggests.

All roads lead to Rome. It’s one of the oldest sayings in the Western world, and according to a new study in Nature Communications, it isn’t quite true. Led by Adam Pažout, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the team found that cities like Antioch, Ancyra (modern Ankara), Byzantium (modern Istanbul), and Corinth […]

In a quiet corner of Hadrian’s Villa, wedged between the so-called Amphitheater and a low bench of volcanic tufa rock, sits a marble slab measuring roughly 40 by 35 centimeters (about 16 by 14 inches). It has not moved in some 1,900 years. Two lines of carved capital letters explain why archaeologists are excited: FVLGVR […]

Archaeologists conducting a new series of excavations at the ancient Turkish city of Smyrna have uncovered three previously hidden rooms and a 1500-year-old Late Antiquity theater that earlier efforts had missed.

The new excavations, which took place in Izmir’s historic center, also uncovered a series of ancient paintings that had remained hidden for over a millennium, along with a Roman-era water channel that, unlike similar structures, seems to stop before reaching any nearby natural springs.

1,500-Year-Old Hidden Rooms, Ancient Paintings, and a Lost Theater

According to a statement from the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, the work, which was  “conducted on behalf of Izmir Katip Celebi University with permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,” expanded on previous excavations at the same site. However, the new excavation effort uncovered several previously unknown finds.

First, the archaeology team came across three new hidden rooms, or “spaces,” in an area where previous efforts had uncovered an ancient mosaic floor. According to the excavation team, two of the new spaces also contained mosaic floors. However, the third newly discovered space featured a marble floor.

Second, the research team uncovered what they described as a “theater area.” Researchers had not identified the theater during previous excavations.

Third, the Izmir authorities described a series of ancient wall paintings as the most visually striking component. According to the Metropolitan Ministry’s statement, the previously undiscovered wall paintings were placed around the Agora and the theater.

“This is the first time we have found wall paintings in these spaces,” explained Prof. Dr. Akin Ersoy, faculty member of the Turkish-Islamic Archaeology Department at Izmir Katip Celebi University and the head of the latest excavations.

“We Had Never Come Across Anything Like This in the Agora of Smyrna”

When dating the site, Prof. Dr. Ersoy said cities in the region underwent significant structural changes after the division of the Roman Empire at the end of the 4^th century A.D. These changes allowed the excavation team to date the site to sometime between the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. This ancient date makes the site over 1,500 years old, placing it in the period historians call Late Antiquity.

When discussing the architectural style of the new excavations, the team leader said they share some features with the Terrace Houses found at the ancient city of Ephesus. The research said the similarities suggest that the newly discovered structures may have served a public function. Still, he noted, these discoveries were unexpected.

“Until now, we had never come across anything like this in the Agora of Smyrna or around the theater.”

Given the likely historical period of the site’s construction and use, the research team also noted that the newly uncovered hidden room spaces and ancient paintings will offer previously unavailable insights into Smyrna’s transformation away from Roman influence.

150 Yards of Roman-Era Water Channel Also Unearthed

During the excavations, the team also traced a section of an ancient Roman-era water channel. The researchers suggested that the ancient channel carried water for roughly 2,000 years.

Although Roman-era water channels were typically connected to natural springs, Ersoy said the team has traced roughly 150 yards of channel and has yet to find its source. The team leader suggested a spring may lie just south of the site, near the Namazgah Bath and Kursunlu Mosque.

Future excavations are hoped to uncover more evidence of the ancient spring and perhaps even more hidden rooms and artworks left behind in the 1500-year-old city. 

Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.

When we think about Roman society, the image that usually comes to mind is that of a world dominated by men: senators, magistrates, generals, and emperors. According to the traditional narrative, women occupied a secondary place, confined to the domestic sphere and excluded from public life. However, a recent study based on the analysis of […]

Archaeologists reidentify a room once thought to be a shrine as a rare Roman library.

The desert north of Arabia has kept a Roman military story out of sight for almost two thousand years. Now three angular traces in the landscape are giving archaeologists a possible route to follow. Researchers working with satellite imagery have identified three Roman marching camps in the Harrat al-Shaam region, close to the ancient frontier […]

The post Three Roman Desert Camps May Reveal a Hidden Campaign Against Nabataea appeared first on Curiosmos.

The history of the Roman Empire is often told through the exploits of emperors and generals, but the mechanisms of daily administration and, especially, the relationships between central power and the provinces, constitute an equally revealing field of study to understand the dynamics of that civilization. In this context, the discovery and subsequent analysis of […]

Excavations carried out as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) have brought to light an architectural complex of incalculable value in the heart of Villa Celimontana. Under the supervision of the Special Superintendency of Rome of the Ministry of Culture, the work has uncovered eight rooms belonging to an Imperial-era building whose […]

The Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, has announced the completion of the excavation and restoration works of an ancient pool located in the frigidarium of the monumental complex known as the Hamam Gymnasium, within the ancient city of Tralleis, in the province of Aydın. The newly restored structure has remarkable dimensions: […]

In the summer of 15 BC, Emperor Augustus’ two stepsons, Tiberius and Drusus, brought the Central Alps and the Swiss Plateau under Roman control. That campaign concluded decades of efforts to link the Gallic provinces with Illyricum and secure the routes between northern Italy and the Danube. However, while the western and eastern routes of […]

The construction of the new variant of the A8 highway in the area known as the Albaufstieg, south of Stuttgart (Germany), has uncovered a first-rate archaeological find: a segment of the ancient Roman road that, two millennia ago, structured defense and trade along the Empire’s frontier. The discovery reveals a stretch of approximately ninety meters […]

Laser scans revealed a Roman stronghold overlooking the battlefield where an Alpine people lost their freedom.

The educational excavation campaign that the University of Vienna has been conducting since mid-July in the municipality of Hannersdorf, in the Oberwart district southeast of Vienna, has brought to light the remains of two pottery kilns from the Roman era in the first fifteen days of work. The work, led by archaeologist Basema Hamarneh, focuses […]

A team from the University of Granada has confirmed that a room in the Roman villa of Fuente Álamo, in the municipality of Puente Genil, functioned as a library, making it the oldest documented in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the best-preserved in the entire Empire. The study, published in the Journal of Mediterranean […]

The archaeological campaign carried out during May and June 2026 in Cova Dones, located in the Valencian municipality of Millares in southeastern Spain, has completely transformed the previously known scope of this underground site. The work, led by researchers from the Universities of Alicante and Zaragoza, has documented a total of 120 Latin inscriptions on […]

The emergency archaeological intervention promoted by Cantonal Archaeology on Zürcherstrasse Street in Windisch (in the Swiss canton of Aargau) has concluded within the expected timeframe, according to sources from the institution in mid-July. The excavation team, composed of around twenty specialists, worked for eleven months on an area of approximately 4,000 square meters—the future site […]

The presentation of the project took place in the Palestra Grande of the Excavations, at the end of the International Workshop Pompeii: Excavations and Ongoing Research, held in the Park Auditorium. During the meeting, representatives from Italian and foreign institutions and universities participating in research activities at the site shared the progress of their respective […]