Laborer Necropolis Gives Experts A Look Into Rome's Early Work Force

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The first-century burial grounds are located near the main airport in Rome. The necropolis was discovered last year when customs police noticed grave robbers seeking ancient Roman artifacts.

More than 300 skeletons have since been unearthed. Most of the laborers found have been males who showed heavy wear and tear on their remains.

Sandy sediment preserved the bodies that suffered joint and tendon inflammation, compressed vertebrae, hernias and spinal problems from the hard work they spent their lives doing. The archaeologists believe that the men carried heavy loads on their backs from nearby ports during the early years of Imperial Rome.

{quote]Many ailments "seem to hark back to work as laborers, in transport and carrying of heavy loads, in an especially humid environment, circumstances that makes one think of the burial of individuals who worked in port areas of the city," the office said in a statement.

while necropolises are not uncommon in Rome finding one that belonged to the lower classes is. The Ponte Galeria is invaluable to experts in that it shows how the lower classes lived.

The dig also is enlightening researchers on how the disabled may have been cared for during this time period. A man who survived into his 30s was found with a fused jaw. The man was likely fed by his family by a tube that would have contained liquids or semisolids that went through a hole made in his teeth.

This is one of the most extensive digs of a necropolis in recent time in Rome.

The archaeologists believe that the burial grounds are that of laborers because of the type of construction materials. The graves were covered with wooden boards and roof type tiling.