================================================ MAPS-L ** MAPS-L ** MAPS-L ** MAPS-L ** MAPS-L ================================================ RE Internet maps reveal Roman villa DA Thursday, Sept 22, 2005 FR Angie TO Maps-L ** Internet maps reveal Roman villa ** An Italian man finds the remains of a Roman villa while using Google's satellite map service to view his home. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4267238.stm > ** BBC Daily E-mail ** Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all in one daily e-mail < http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ > ** Disclaimer ** The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified. If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm Internet maps reveal Roman villa A woman looks at a view of the Italian capital Rome on Google Earth Google Earth offers satellite images of many parts of the world Latest technology proved an unexpected aid to unearthing the past when an Italian man decided to look at internet maps of his home. Computer programmer Luca Mori found the remains of an ancient Roman villa when he browsed Google Earth maps showing satellite images of his local area. His curiosity was sparked by unusual shading by his home in Sorbolo, Parma. He contacted local archaeologists who investigated and confirmed it was once the location of a Roman villa. "At first I thought it was a stain on the photograph," 47-year-old Mr Mori explained. "But when I zoomed in, I saw that there was something under the earth." The satellite images threw up a dark oval shape more than 500m (1,640ft) long, as well as shaded rectangular shapes nearby. Mr Mori decided to alert experts from the National Archaeological Museum in Parma about his find. After excavating some ceramic pieces from the site - now farmland - they confirmed a Roman villa once stood there. "At first they thought the site might be Bronze Age but a closer inspection turned up ceramic and stone pieces that showed it was a Roman villa built some time just before the birth of Christ," he was quoted as saying in the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper. Google Earth is a service offered by the US-based internet search engine Google, allowing users to view most parts of the world using a combination of satellite imagery and maps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANGIE COPE American Geographical Society Library 2311 E. Hartford Avenue Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/AGSL/index.html Hours: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm [log in to unmask] (414) 229-6282 (800) 558-8993 (US TOLL FREE) (414) 229-3624 (FAX) Map Librarian, MAPS-L Moderator http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/AGSL/welcome_to_mapsl%20forum.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~