A redevelopment project in northeastern Italy has uncovered a much older layer of city life: the remains of what archaeologists say is the ancient Roman commune of Oderzo's earliest known Christian church.
The remains surfaced in an area that Fox News Digital described as a former fish market, tying present-day construction work to a site with roots dating back about 1,600 years to the Roman and early medieval periods.
What happened?
The regional Archaeological Superintendency for metropolitan Venice and the provinces of Belluno, Padua, and Treviso announced the find in a June press release, as Fox News Digital reported.
The structure dates to the fourth or fifth century A.D., when Oderzo was known as Opitergium and Christianity was spreading across the Roman Empire.
It came to light after archaeologists began digging last November ahead of a residential redevelopment project in the city, about 40 miles northeast of Venice.
Photos from the excavation show colorful mosaic flooring and graves set beside the church's foundation walls.
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Researchers said the building measures about 75 feet across and extends at least 98 feet through the area uncovered so far, with a main aisle and two side aisles.
Officials said, "The foundations, up to 1.2 meters (4 feet) thick and built from brick bonded with mortar, rest on wooden piles driven into the alluvial soil — a construction technique widely used in antiquity to improve stability."
Because the church's east end has not yet been uncovered, archaeologists say the full complex could be larger than what is currently visible.
So far, the dig has also revealed four graves containing seven sets of remains.
Why does it matter?
As Oderzo's oldest identified Christian worship site, the church could offer direct evidence of religious life during a major transition in the late Roman world.
What's being done?
Excavation is still underway, and the church's unopened east side may reveal additional parts of the structure. That could help researchers determine how large the full complex once was.
Researchers are also studying the human remains found at the church. That analysis could reveal more about who was buried there and how the sacred space changed over time before the building went out of use, was stripped for materials, and was eventually destroyed in the Middle Ages.
Officials said the discovery "[opens] a new chapter in the history of ancient Opitergium during the Late Roman and Early Medieval periods," and added, "Anthropologists are currently studying the remains of the seven individuals, and future specialized analyses are expected to provide additional information."
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