Archaeologists May Have Found 2,100-Year-Old Roman Canal Built by Gaius Marius
A Roman canal dated back more than 2,100 years may have been located in southern France. The structure is believed to be the Marius Canal. It is thought to have been built between 104 and 102 B.C. during the Cimbrian Wars. The Romans had been engaged in battles against the Cimbri and Teutones, two migrating Celtic tribes. The waterway was said to have been ordered by Roman general Gaius Marius to improve supply routes. If confirmed, this would be the first major Roman hydraulic engineering project in Gaul.
Study Suggests Ancient Canal Matches Roman Construction Patterns
According to a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the canal’s remains were found south of Arles within the Rhône River delta. The research team which was led by Joé Juncker, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Strasbourg, conducted sediment core analysis and radiocarbon dating. These tests indicate that the site was used between the first century B.C. and third century A.D. The dimensions of the canal which measured approximately 98 feet in width, aligns with Roman engineering standards.
Archaeological Evidence Points to Roman Use
Finding from the site includes 69 pieces of Roman ceramics. It has two ancient wooden stakes, and large cobblestone platforms. Radiocarbon analysis of the stakes suggests they date back to the first to fourth century A.D. Simon Loseby, an honorary lecturer at the University of Sheffield, told Live Science that the discovery adds to evidence of Roman large-scale infrastructure projects. He noted that further excavations may reveal quays or towpaths, which could provide stronger confirmation of the canal’s purpose and duration of use.
Further Excavations Needed to Confirm Identity of Canal
The last historical mention of the Marius Canal was recorded by Pliny the Elder in the first century A.D. Juncker cautioned that without additional archaeological verification, definitive attribution to Marius remains uncertain. Research at the site continues.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.
Related Stories
Science
Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System
A minuscule meteorite seems to be rewriting the history of our solar system. The 50-gram Northwest Africa 12264 has brought a new understanding of when and how rocky worlds came together. Inner planets such as Earth and Mars were thought to have formed earlier than their more distant siblings, given temperatures and composition. But a new study of this meteorite, which originates from beyond the asteroid belt, suggests that the birth of planets throughout the solar system occurred tens of millions of years earlier than previously believed, narrowing the gap in time between the solar system’s inner and outer surfaces.
Outer Solar System Meteorite Reveals Rocky Planets Likely Formed Simultaneously Across the Galaxy
As per a study led by Dr Ben Rider-Stokes of The Open University and published in Communications Earth & Environment, the meteorite’s chemical makeup offers critical evidence. Its chromium and oxygen isotope ratios place its origin in the outer solar system. Most strikingly, lead isotope dating determined its age to be about 4.564 billion years, almost identical to basalt samples from the inner solar system that represent early planetary crusts.
These findings directly challenge the previous assumption that rocky planets beyond Jupiter formed two to three million years later due to their water-rich composition. Ice and water were thought to slow differentiation, the internal layering of planetary bodies. But this meteorite, with its outer solar birth and inner solar age, points to a far more synchronised process of rocky planet formation.
Scientists note that the discovery is also consistent with observations of exoplanetary systems. Based on this and past observations of disks of dust and gas around other stars, the evidence of planetesimals forming quickly and over large orbital separations adds to the argument that early solar system evolution may have been more universal than thought.
As trivial as the time difference might be in the context of a universe, the question is huge. A new timeline of planet formation is not only a retelling of Earth’s history but may also help determine how astronomers think about how planets form in the galaxy more generally, providing new hints about where and how in the galaxy Earth-like planets could take shape.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.
Related Stories
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike