Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman water system during excavations in Stabiae, located near Pompeii in the Province of Naples, Italy.
Stabiae was largely buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which released a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), molten rock, pumice, and hot ash at a rate of 1.5 million tons per second. The resulting pyroclastic surges and heavy ashfall enveloped Pompeii and Herculanium, with large parts of Stabiae being buried in thick tephra and ash.
The Roman author, Pliny the Elder, records that Stabiae had several miles of luxury coastal villas along the edge of the headland, with notable figures such as Julius Caesar, the emperors Augustus and Tiberius, and the statesman-philosopher Cicero all owning properties there.
Excavations in a small peristyle (colonnaded garden) at the Villa Arianna have uncovered parts of an ancient water system during archaeological cleaning, revealing a decorated lead tank which was part of a water distribution system within the villa complex. READ MORE...
