etruscan

Archaeologists have completed the first comprehensive technological mapping of an intricate underground tunnel system beneath the ancient Etruscan city of Veii, revealing a sophisticated network of hydraulic passages that once defied Rome itself. Using autonomous rovers originally developed for aerospace missions, researchers have reconstructed a complex subterranean landscape featuring hydraulic systems, ritual basins, hidden channels, cisterns, wells, and long-forgotten galleries that underpinned one of the most advanced cities of pre-Roman Italy. This groundbreaking project, supported by Italy's Ministry of Culture, represents a turning point in understanding how Etruscan engineering shaped the ancient Mediterranean world. The multi-institutional investigation focuses particularly on the Sanctuary of Portonaccio, one of the most important religious complexes of ancient Etruria and home to the famous temple