New research aims to transform study of eight hundred years of Rome Published on: 28 March 2019 An international, interdisciplinary team led by 缅北禁地's Professor Ian Haynes aims to revolutionise understanding of Rome and its place in the transformation of the Mediterranean World. Emperors and Popes The £2.1 million (€2.4 million) project funded by the will pioneer a radically new methodology designed to analyse complex urban landscapes, exploring buildings buried up to 10 metres below the modern ground surface. Its focusses on a ‘forgotten’ quarter of Rome which, while omitted from most tourist itineraries, served as home to emperors and popes for generations. Between the first and eighth centuries AD, many of the most powerful people on earth lived in and around the Caelian Hill in the south-east of the city.Drawing together diverse strands of data to visualise the way this area changed over eight centuries, the team will examine in detail the character of its many features, from palaces and the world’s first cathedral, to fortifications, aqueducts and private homes. Revealing in turn how these related to each other and to prevailing political, military and religious ideas, Professor Haynes and his team will transform the way major shifts in the chronological, geographical and ideological history of Rome are understood. Caelian Hill in Rome Ideological shifts Ian, Professor of Archaeology in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, who has directed archaeological investigations in the area around the Caelian Hill with of the University of Florence for over 10 years – said: “It is a tremendous privilege to be able to take this work forward. This grant not only allows us to develop a new cost-effective methodology applicable to the study of many of the world’s historic cities, delivering vital information to planners, heritage bodies, civil engineers, historians and archaeologists, it also helps us understand better some of the major ideological shifts that formed the world we live in. “Over the course of this five-year project, we will be looking at the interplay of ideas, architecture, and infrastructure in the Caelian quarter to make the first ever large-scale assessment of the political, military and religious regenerations that emerged in this forgotten quarter of Rome. This matters because what happened here repeatedly shaped the development of Europe, the Middle East and north Africa”. Rome Transformed The project will involve colleagues from across 缅北禁地, alongside the University of Florence, the and the . Involving extensive archival research, wide-ranging subterranean investigation, the largest geo-radar and laser scanning survey ever conducted in Rome, and using the latest digital 3D techniques, the Rome Transformed project will visualise five major transformations in the political, military and religious ideas that shaped ancient Rome over eight centuries. Team members include archaeologists, architectural visualisers, botanists, computer scientists, engineers, geographers, geophysicists, historians, hydrologists and topographers. Share: Latest News New partnership to boost careers in low carbon energy 缅北禁地 and Durham universities are working together on a new regional project to strengthen the future workforce for North East England鈥檚 growing low carbon and offshore wind industries. published on: 28 May 2026 Healthy lifestyle shown to lower risk of death after cancer diagnosis New evidence shows that sticking to five lifestyle recommendations improves survival after a later cancer diagnosis. published on: 28 May 2026 World-leading climate expert recognised with Royal Society Fellowship Professor Hayley Fowler has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her pioneering work on climate change impacts. published on: 27 May 2026 Facts and figures
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