A team of archaeologists, historians, engineers and experts in Christian antiquities have inaugurated an important archaeological site in Rome. The site is located inside the area that belongs to the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls and its adjoining Benedictine Monastery. The archaeological site has opened after six years of excavation and restoration. The Vatican reports digs have revealed that what today is a complex made up of the Basilica, its quadriporticus (courtyard surrounded by colonnaded porticoes), bell tower, cloister and adjoining monastery, between the 8th and 9th century AD, was a larger settlement with a sanctuary for the poor, a well, a tower and housing for some 200 people. Archaeologists have uncovered more than 15,000 ceramic fragments, sculptures and coins. The discovery has provided information on people’s everyday lives during medieval times and helped experts define the chronology of historical events. Experts say the site provides a missing link in the history of the city of Rome. It shines light on the time of Pope John VIII, whose chief aim during his pontificate was to defend the Roman state and the authority of the Holy See at Rome from the Saracens. Professor Lucrezia Spera of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology said that although there are many literary sources detailing events and costumes of the Early Middle Ages in Rome, until excavations were carried out at the site, there were no consistent archaeological remains bearing witness to the period.
