A Roman villa with intricate mosaics has been unearthed on the outskirts of Rome, in a remarkable discovery that emerged after police were alerted to a clandestine dig on government land.

Discovery and Excavation

The property is located in what is now the village of Castel di Guido, about 12 miles from Rome. In Imperial times, it was a hamlet of residential palaces known as Lorium.

The villa is still being excavated and studied, but archaeologists have so far uncovered a grand entrance hall with an atrium and sunken basin, known as an impluvium, surrounded by a mosaic floor with black and white botanical and geometric designs.

In its Imperial heyday, Lorium was frequented by emperors including Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, Italy’s Ministry of Culture said in a press release earlier this week.

Illicit Activity and Preservation

The discovery was revealed when concerned neighbors contacted authorities in February to report illicit activity at the site. When the Carabinieri military police attended, they recognized the telltale signs of the work of tomb raiders who loot archaeological sites in search of treasures.

Authorities discovered that a small group of people used a backhoe to break ground into a vast cavern below, in a hidden part of the property, which is protected by fences that they cut through.

Within a few days, the dig was stopped and, even though the perpetrators got away, what authorities found was astonishing: a previously unknown ancient villa with perfectly preserved artifacts.

Alessia Contino, archaeologist with the Special Superintendency of Rome, which surveyed the villa, said the findings range from lavish mosaics to intricate marble work. There are also the remnants of a statue thought to be of Silvanus, the Roman god of the countryside, holding a small animal in one hand and a basket adorned with birds in another.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.