Wednesday, November 26, 2003

BUT YOU ALWAYS NEED PARKING

Yes, parking is never plentiful enough, but in Rome they're building a parking lot on top of Roman ruins:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAD TO put down their tools after exploring only a small slice of the 500-square-yard expanse of storehouses that once served as busy port when Roman traders and armies sailed the Mediterranean during the Imperial era.

While there’s money available to build parking spots in this car-choked metropolis, the coffers for archaeological exploration are practically bare.

But archaeologists expressed relief that they will at least be able to rescue three stunning mosaics from what could be thermal baths from the start of the 4th century.

And even folks you might think would be on the side of history don't really seem to be when it comes to parking:
It’s not the first time Romans’ hunger for more parking lots fared better than archaeologists’ thirst for more knowledge. A frescoed, 2nd century Imperial villa was razed on the Janiculum hill to make way for a multistory Vatican parking garage for its 2000 millennium celebrations.

History, who needs it?

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