HARI SREENIVASAN: Archaeologists are racing
against time to save artifacts from what is
being described as the most significant find
of Roman ruins in the past half-century.
They're located in Eastern France, and the
discovery is being hailed as a mini Pompeii,
the Roman town near Naples in Italy that was
destroyed in 79 A.D. by the volcano, Mount
Vesuvius.
As part of our ongoing coverage of Culture
at Risk, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant
reports.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Two thousand years ago, this
corner of what is now Eastern France was on
the fringes of the Roman Empire.
The only constants over two millennia are
the moon and the River Rhone with its transport
links, which drew the Romans here.
In the village of Sainte-Colombe, right next
to the Rhone, archaeologist Catherine Du Pinet
is working to extract rusting iron armor belonging
to what's believed to have been a retired
Roman officer.
CATHERINE DU PINET, Archaeologist (through
translator): It's really difficult because
it's located in the remains of a shop.
It's surrounded by a layer of soil, tile and
brick that was burned and is really hard.
This is very fragile and it's complicated
to get it out.
MALCOLM BRABANT: This has been a very productive
day for archaeologist Benjamin Clement, who's
leading this dig.
BENJAMIN CLEMENT, Archaeologist: So, here
we just found all the pieces of a huge armor
of the 1st century A.D.
Here, we have a little part of a belt.
And this kind of decoration comes from a little
belt on the front of the armor.
Here, you have all the parts of the armor,
all the little pieces who come from it.
We just find 10 minutes ago a little weapon,
a little sword.
I will just show you.
If you come to see here, we have all the protections
for the shoulder.
MALCOLM BRABANT: This site is being described
as perhaps the most important discovery of
Roman remains in the past 50 years.
Some of the artifacts apparently match the
beauty of those found in Pompeii, especially
the mosaic floors of houses belonging to the
Roman upper classes.
But the most precious ones are no longer visible.
They were removed by the archaeologists before
they went public about the site, because,
as Culture Ministry official Marie-Agnes Gaidon-Bunuel
explains, they were worried about theft.
MARIE-AGNES GAIDON-BUNUEL, Culture Ministry
(through translator): There has been an increase
in clandestine treasure hunting in France
these last few years, with objects being reclaimed
from archaeological sites, which we are not
happy about at all.
The Minister for Culture is trying to fight
against the practice, because the removal
of these artifacts from their archaeological
setting prevents us from dating the site,
and they are being actively marketed outside
of France.
MALCOLM BRABANT: But some of the more visually
mundane antiquities like clay pots remain.
This cluster was found in the Roman equivalent
of a delicatessen.
BENJAMIN CLEMENT: Mosaics is really interesting
because it's part of art.
It's like a statue.
But for the understanding of the way of living
of Roman people, mostly for the middle-class
and lower-class population, to find this structure
is more interesting, because it's a chance
to understand how they live and how they do
for cooking, eating.
MALCOLM BRABANT: That these treasures were
found at all is due to a French law that requires
developers to excavate areas where the authorities
are confident that antiquities may be buried
just beneath the surface.
The town of Vienne and its surroundings are
prime historical real estate.
One of the best preserved Roman temples is
situated in the heart of Vienne, and in the
summer months, its citizens, many of them
no doubt descendants of the Romans, dance
and indulge in the age-old habit of worshipping
Bacchus, the Roman God of wine and drink.
Like Pompeii, the Roman enclave at Sainte-Colombe
had its own disasters, not a volcano, but
a couple of infernos.
Unlike Pompeii, the inhabitants here managed
to escape, and as Benjamin Clement explains,
fire has similar preservative qualities to
volcanic ash.
BENJAMIN CLEMENT: The comparison with Pompeii
comes from the fact we have two big fires
which destroy all the neighborhood, the first
one in the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.,
and the second one in the middle of the 3rd
century A.D.
These huge fires preserved, froze all the
structures, all the furniture, the artifacts
in the houses, in the shops, in the public
space.
And it's exactly the same thing as in Pompeii.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Now, this site may be as
significant as Pompeii, but you are not going
to be able to come and see it any time soon.
Within months, it's going to be covered in
concrete and turned into apartment buildings
and a car park.
But Roman antiquities specialist Elsa Dias
from Portugal is saddened that soon this treasure
will disappear from view.
ELSA DIAS, Roman Antiquities Specialist (through
translator): It's a one-time-in-your-life
opportunity to dig a place like this.
You have to be passionate to be an archaeologist.
When you see the work we do, you have to be
passionate.
It's really physical.
And we dig when it rains, when it pours.
And the site, it's an exceptional site, because,
in France, there is nothing like this.
Personally, I would preserve everything, but
we know that in the world that we live in,
it's not possible.
So people have to live somewhere.
Someone else is going to live here after the
Romans.
(LAUGHTER)
MALCOLM BRABANT: That's history.
ELSA DIAS: Yes.
MALCOLM BRABANT: At the end of the working
day, as his colleagues dust down the shoulder
armor, Benjamin Clement brings out the short
sword that may have killed British tribesmen
as the Emperor Claudius expanded the Roman
Empire.
BENJAMIN CLEMENT: It's always a race against
time when you are -- when you make archaeological
declaration before building construction,
because you have to deal with other priority
and not scientific or archaeological priority,
and it's really hard.
But it's a part of our work, and it's a part
really interesting of our work.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The armor and all the other
artifacts recovered from this dig will probably
be displayed in a museum nearby, enriching
the cultural value of Vienne.
Amongst its more unusual treasures, a pyramid
that some claim was prepared as a mausoleum
for Pontius Pilate, who ordered the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ.
But, according to the team here, that is fake
ancient news, a real Roman myth.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant
in Vienne.
