LONDON, ENGLAND—Artnet News reports that archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) working ahead of road construction in southern England uncovered two wells dug by the Romans at the site of a large trade hub where metalworkers, carpenters, and woodworkers had been established. The older well measured about 28 feet deep, but it soon collapsed. “As we discovered when we first started our excavations here, the clay literally peels away from the more compacted earth and stone,” said MOLA archaeologist Simon Markus. “A lot of effort would have gone into digging this well which they then had to completely abandon,” he explained. The exploration of the second well revealed additional precautions taken to prevent its collapse. This time, the Romans only dug to 21 feet deep, and they lined the inside of the pit with wooden boards. To read about lead curse tablets recovered from an ancient well in Athens, go to "The Cursing Well."
