Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Corbis News/Corbis via Getty Images
The charred remains of a lavish third-century home are the most recent discovery found during the construction of Rome's new metro line.
Ben Wedeman
This discovery is particularly interesting because the fire that destroyed the house left some things intact, including wooden beams that, under normal circumstances, would have decayed ages ago.
Ben Wedeman
One of the most surprising finds was the skeleton of a dog who, according to archaeologist Simone Morretta, was likely stuck in the house after part of the burning ceiling fell.
Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Other finds include a fragment of mosaic flooring...
Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
...a wall fragment...
Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
...part of a piece of furniture...
Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
...and parts of the burnt wooden ceiling.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
Items from ancient times are found more often than you might think. In September 2015, British archaeologists discovered a small but prehistoric site that they say provides a genuine snapshot of life in the Bronze Age, some 3000 years ago.
Heritage Auctions
The earliest known stone copy of the Ten Commandments sold at auction in Beverly Hills in 2016 for $850,000.
Heritage Auctions
The stone was first uncovered in 1913.
Heritage Auctions
"The tablet's significance is testament to the deep roots and enduring power of the Commandments that still form the basis of three of the world's great religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam," says David Michaels, director of ancient coins for Heritage Auctions, who will be conducting the sale.
courtesy mossgreen auctions
Specialists at Mossgreen auctions in Australia discovered this Ming dynasty banknote hidden inside the head of this 14th century Buddhist carving. The wooden sculpture represents the head of a Luohan -- an enlightened person who has reached Nirvana in Buddhist culture.
courtesy mossgreen auctions
Its face value was worth roughly $98 at the time of its circulation and the 700-year-old banknote is believed to have been handmade during China's Ming dynasty. Together, the banknote and sculpture are expected to fetch between $30,000 to $45,000 at auction.
courtesy mossgreen auctions
After studying the banknote and carving details, art specialists were able to estimate the sculpture's age, which dates back to China's Hongwu period in the 14th century.
courtesy mossgreen auctions
Mossgreen specialists believe this is the first time a Ming dynasty banknote has been found inside a wooden Buddhist sculpture. They say it's more common to find relics and semi-precious stones left by monks inside Buddhist sculptures.
Uruma Board of Education
Ten ancient Roman and Ottoman coins were recently discovered in castle ruins in Okinawa, Japan. This image shows the front of one of the Roman coins.
Uruma City Educational Board
"I couldn't believe they'd found coins from the Roman empire in Kasturen castle," archiologist Hiroyuki Miyagi, from Okinawa International University, told CNN. This is the front of one of the Ottoman coins.
UNC Charlotte
Archaeologists recently unearthed a rare 2,000 year old Roman coin during a scientific dig in Jerusalem. The gold coin features the face of Emperor Nero and was likely struck in 56-57 AD.
Aileen Cynthia Amurao
In August 2016, the world's largest pearl was discovered under a bed in the Philippines, where it had lain forgotten for over ten years.
Courtesy de Grisogono
This 1,109 carat, tennis ball-sized diamond made headlines in November 2015 when it was pulled out of the Karowe Mine, in Botswana, by Canadian company Lucara Diamond Corp.
Clara Amit, Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
In May 2016, divers discovered a 1,600-year-old shipwreck while swimming the ancient Roman port of Caesarea. These rare bronze artifacts were recovered from the ship.
ATLAS
Over 1,300 pounds (590 kg) of bronze Roman coins dating to the 3rd century A.D. were unearthed in April 2016 by construction workers digging a trench in Spain.
Béla Polyvàs, Canton of Aargau
In January 2016, over 4,000 Roman coins were discovered by a fruit and vegetable farmer on a molehill in his cherry orchard in Switzerland.
courtesy william henry
The bead on this bracelet, from Portland-based design company William Henry, is actually made using fossilized mammoth tooth and dinosaur bones.
Rome CNN  — 

Thirty-three feet underground, at the bottom of a concrete-lined pit, archeologist Gilberto Pagani patiently scrapes dirt from a charred beam of wood that has laid undisturbed for around 1800 years.

It’s part of a house, perhaps once belonging to a senior Roman army officer, destroyed by fire. Last year construction workers discovered the site near the Colosseum as they were digging a shaft to the tunnel of Rome’s new metro Line C. It was only this week that archaeologists revealed what they’ve found during the ensuing excavation.

History made: In an astonishing Bronze Age discovery a 3000-year-old community has been unearthed

This discovery is particularly interesting because the fire that destroyed the house left some things intact, including wooden beams that, under normal circumstances, would have decayed ages ago.

Read: The hidden details in art’s masterpieces

“It’s an extraordinary situation,” says Rome’s archaeological superintendent Francesco Prospetti. “The collapse of the ceiling sealed everything inside. It was carbonized without being burned.”

The skeleton of a large dog was also found at the bottom of the pit, its jaw and large front teeth easily recognizable.

02:21 - Source: CNN
Rome metro dig unearths 1800-year-old ruins

According to archaeologist Simone Morretta, “This poor dog was already in the room during the fire. We found ashes under its paws. Probably part of the burning ceiling fell on it and there it was stuck and died.”

Fires in ancient Rome, she says, were frequent.

“Roman houses were full of wooden elements,” she says. “There were lit by fire and cooking was done over an open flame.”

Will a $10 million reward solve the world's biggest art heist?

Read: 20 priceless monuments lost in conflict

This is just the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries during Line C’s construction, which started in 2007. Last spring an army barracks was discovered nearby, and in 2009 construction was delayed when work ran into the remains of Emperor Hadrian’s Athenaeum, an elite school dating back to the second century.

Each discovery has caused construction delays, but Prospetti bristles at the suggestion progress is being sacrificed to the past.

“It was foreseen in the planning for Linea C that there would be plenty of time set aside for archaeology … Our effort is to transform an apparent hindrance to public service into a great opportunity, by giving Rome a subway unique in the world, in which you go underground not just to take a train, but also to take a journey in history.”