8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

An ancient structure of unknown purpose discovered in northeastern Italy

A mysterious structure of unknown purpose has been unearthed in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy.

The discovery was made during excavations for the fiber optic installation in the town of Torreano, near Udine.

The ancient structure is made of heavy stone slabs that form a rectangle — two long walls and a short back topped by a “roof.” Archaeologists initially thought it was a burial cist, but an excavation of the structure revealed no evidence of human remains. It only has silty, muddy soil typical of waterways.

The discovery was publicly reported by Ivano Dorbolo’, a scholar of history and archeology, and administrator of the group “Valli del Natisone – Ricerche ed indagini archeologiche“.

Photo: Ivano Dorbolo'
Photo: Ivano Dorbolo’

Dorbolo said in a statement that the most plausible hypothesis at the moment is that it was a causeway, built to allow carts to pass through an ancient water course that flowed through the structure.

Another option is a culvert or drainpipe, but rough-hewn, heavy stone slabs are not the best choice for that purpose. Given the weight and size of the stones, it is likely that this was not a quick structure built by a local farmer but rather a significant infrastructure project requiring financial and human investment.

Valli del Natisone – Ricerche ed indagini Archeologiche, Faceboook

This discovery contains no stratigraphic data, and it would be nearly impossible to date a collection of heavy stone slabs in the absence of associated artifacts or remains suitable for radiocarbon or dendrochronological analysis. In conclusion, we have no idea what it is or how old it is.

After the necessary controls in the field, the work continues. The structure has now been reburied for its own protection.

Related Articles

Gold glass ‘Roma’ unearthed in the excavations of the Rome subway

7 February 2023

7 February 2023

A very rare and refined piece of gold glass representing ‘Roma’, the woman symbol of the Eternal City, has been...

Over 7,000-Year-Old Traces of Life Discovered in Ratina Cave on Šćedro Island, Croatia

28 February 2025

28 February 2025

Recent archaeological excavations on Šćedro Island, located south of Hvar, have unveiled significant findings that challenge previous understandings of the...

Dominican mission discovers 1,305-meter Greco-Roman ancient rock-cut tunnel in Alexandria

4 November 2022

4 November 2022

A Greco-Roman tunnel measuring 1,305 meters in length was discovered beneath Tapuziris Magna, an Ancient Egyptian city, by an Egyptian-Dominican...

Detector finds rare Merovingian gold ring refers to a previously unknown principality

22 February 2024

22 February 2024

A metal detectorist has unearthed a very rare, 1,500-year-old Merovingian gold ring made of 22-carat gold at Emmerlev in Southwest...

Rare and Unusual Fossil Shows Small Mammal Attacking Larger Dinosaur

20 July 2023

20 July 2023

An unusual fossil from about 125 million years ago that depicts a dramatic event when a carnivorous mammal attacked a...

Archaeologists reveal 4,000-year-old rock-cut tomb, artifacts in Saqqara

8 January 2024

8 January 2024

A team of Egyptian and Japanese archaeologists has unveiled a rock-cut tomb believed to be more than 4,000 years old...

Remains of Norman Stone Tower Defending Chichester Castle Discovered

5 June 2025

5 June 2025

A remarkable archaeological excavation in Chichester’s historic Priory Park has uncovered the remains of a Norman-era stone tower, known as...

One of the largest mass burial pits ever discovered in the UK has been unearthed next to Leicester Cathedral

21 November 2024

21 November 2024

While excavating the gardens of Leicester Cathedral for the future construction of a learning center, archaeologists uncovered one of the...

Paleontologists Unearth 139 Million-Year-Old Pregnant Dinosaur Fossil in Chile

10 May 2022

10 May 2022

Archeologists in Chile have unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13ft-long pregnant ichthyosaur from a melting glacier -marking the first...

In Turkey’s Zerzevan Castle, a badge bearing the US national symbol was discovered

4 October 2021

4 October 2021

Recent investigations have led to the discovery of a badge bearing the pattern of the Great Seal of the United...

A 2,200-Year-Old Monumental Pyramidal Structure Discovered in the Judean Desert

26 March 2025

26 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a monumental pyramidal structure in the Judean Desert, dating back 2,200...

An 8,000-year-old number stone found in Yeşilova Mound

27 July 2023

27 July 2023

The 8,000-year-old numeral stone, which is thought to have been used while calculating during the Yeşilova Höyük (Yeşilova Mound) excavation...

New insight into the history of human presence in Paveh county, Kermanshah province, which is located in western Iran

22 August 2021

22 August 2021

Stone tools and animal bones unearthed recently have thrown new insight into the history of human presence in Paveh county,...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

Rare Astrolabe Discovered in Verona Sheds Light On Islamic, Jewish, and Christian Scientific Exchange

6 March 2024

6 March 2024

An eleventh-century rare astrolabe bearing Arabic and Hebrew inscriptions was recently discovered in a museum in Verona, Italy. It dates...