Excavation work for a new metro line in Rome has unearthed a huge Roman barracks from the 2nd Century AD when Emperor Hadrian was in power, the BBC reports.
The find is so impressive that Italy plans to create Rome’s first “archaeological station” at Amba Aradam, on the city’s third metro line.
The new station is being built while archaeologists brush dirt away from artefacts and mosaics 9m (30ft) below street level. The ruins cover 900sq m.
The site, thought to have housed Hadrian’s Praetorian Guard, includes a 100m hallway with 39 rooms.
An Italian Culture Ministry official called the unearthing of the Roman Praetorian Guard barracks “exceptional”.
The Praetorian Guard was created by Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, and served as the emperors’ bodyguards and private military force.