19th-Century Prison Block Uncovered in Australia

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—Foundations of a rare, nineteenth-century circular prison block divided into wedges have been unearthed at the site of Pentridge Prison in southern Australia. This type of prison was designed in the late eighteenth century to keep the prisoners in tiny, solitary cells under the surveillance of a guard stationed at the circle’s center. Archaeologist Adam Ford told The Age that it is “the most intact foundation of this panopticon-style building anywhere in the world.” Five areas of the site will be preserved when the land is developed.