GOOGLE AIDS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
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[ September 24th 2005 ]

Internet behemoth Google has inadvertently aided in the discovery of an ancient Roman villa after an Italian computer programmer discovered the structure while perusing Google Earth.

According to The Guardian, Luca Mori was viewing a region around his home town of Sorbolo, near Parma, when he noticed a shaded oval area more than 500 meters (1,640ft) long, which marked the path of an ancient river. He deduced that the rectangular shadows nearby must be a buried structure, and alerted the National Archaeological Museum of Parma.

Archaeologists have since found ceramic fragments in a small debris field, indicating that an early Roman villa may have stood on the site.