Possible 4th Century Christian Church Unearthed in Rome

Construction projects in Rome often unearth incredible artifacts from the city’s rich history. Work on a new subway line, for instance, has led to the discovery of ancient army barracks, the remains of imperial homes and centuries-old peach pits imported from Persia. So it is not entirely surprising that electrical technicians laying cables near the Tiber River recently found the remains of a luxurious building, which, as the Local Italy reports, may be one of the earliest churches in Rome.

The ruins were discovered close to the Ponte Milvio, a bridge that crosses the Tiber in the northern part of the city. According to La Repubblica, the site consists of four rooms dating from the first and fourth centuries A.D.

Part of the complex seems to have been used as a warehouse. But one of the structures clearly had a more special purpose. As Nick Squires writes in the Telegraph, it was made of “brick walls and exquisitely rendered floors made of red, green and honey-colored marble from Sparta, Egypt and what is now Tunisia.”

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