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Archeologists uncover an ancient Roman bathhouse, halting construction of new Aldi store in UK

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Archeologists in the United Kingdom uncovered the remnants of an ancient Roman villa and bathhouse during the early stages of construction on a new Aldi grocery store in Olney, Buckinghamshire, bringing the project to a halt.

The well-preserved remains of the villa were discovered when archeologists from Oxford Archeology began excavating the site of the new supermarket in order to ascertain whether the site contained ancient Roman remains. The dig was commissioned by the builder of the store, Angle Property. The team uncovered the unique blue, red and white mosaic tiled floor of the old villa and deemed it to be in remarkably good condition.

The finding brought construction of the Aldi store to a grinding halt as city officials and historians debated how to proceed. It was ultimately decided that the mosaic floor will remain in its current location, and be preserved with a protective casing and the construction of the store will resume. 

The dig was initially commissioned because the construction site is near to an area where Roman artifacts have previously been found, including human skeletons in an old churchyard, and ancient pottery. Senior Project Manager at Oxford Archeology, John Boothroyd, told ArtNet the discovery of the remains is “a brilliant outcome.” He added, “Due to the site location we anticipated some notable Roman remains, but the discovery of this fantastic mosaic far exceeded those expectations.”

ARTICLE: LAURA SPIVAK

MANAGING EDITOR: LUKE MOCHERMAN

PHOTO CREDIT: NBC PALM SPRINGS

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Laura Spivak

Laura is a freelance writer out of Maryland and a mom of three. Her background is in political science and international relations, and she has been doing political writing and editing for 17 years. Laura has also written parenting pieces for the Today Show and is currently working on writing a collection of remarkable true stories about normal people. She writes for FBA because unbiased news is vital to unity, and readers deserve the facts free of opinion.

Laura is a freelance writer out of Maryland and a mom of three. Her background is in political science and international relations, and she has been doing political writing and editing for 17 years. Laura has also written parenting pieces for the Today Show and is currently working on writing a collection of remarkable true stories about normal people. She writes for FBA because unbiased news is vital to unity, and readers deserve the facts free of opinion.

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