Italian students uncover huge Roman vault beneath school after rumours of 'ghost rooms'

Italian students have uncovered a huge Roman vault beneath their school in an astonishing chance find.

Students at the Liceo Scientifico Cavour, just a short walk away from the Roman Colosseum, had long heard rumours of mysterious rooms under their sports hall.

The pupils, investigating the rumours, happened upon an ancient structure underneath the school.

Teachers were notified, who then told authorities.

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Archaeologists were called in to take a detailed look and have no determined the structure was in fact a luxurious second-century villa.

The building which now contains the school once housed a Catholic missionary congregation, built in the late 19th century.

An excavation in 1895 uncovered part of the "domus" - a large ancient Roman house.

The neighbourhood and roads near the Colosseum are hugely important to Rome's history, having hosted figures such as Cicero, Octavian, and Pompey.

But they are not well-explored archaeologically thanks to how they now sit below centuries of development.

Claudia Marino, a history and Latin teacher at the high school, had reported the findings of the domus over the years, but researchers did not begin to excavate the site until January 2026, according to school.

Its discovery was presented to the public on May 28 by Ms Marino and Filippo Coarelli, an archaeologist at the University of Perugia in Italy.

The ancient home likely belonged to a member of the Umbrius family based on an inscription found in the structure, researchers said.

While little is known about the family, they may have originated from Samnium, a region of southern Italy not far from Pompeii, where Mount Vesuvius erupted.

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The house has been referred to as the Domus Liceo Cavour or House of the Cavour High School.

Figurative and floral frescoes were found by archaeologists on the wall, as well as stucco decorations along the ceiling vaults of the villa.

In one room, researchers found a mosaic with large, irregularly shaped tiles - a style fashionable by elite Romans in the time period.

Over four dozen boxes of artefacts were recovered and catalogued at the site.

More modern contributions, such as graffiti made by students and others, were also found.

Just a small portion of the Domus Liceo Cavour has been explored because it extends deep below the school.

More excavation may be carried out in the future, with plans from the archaeological superintendent and school to eventually open the site to visitors.

The Italian Government will now carry out "diagnostic investigations, surveys, restoration and consolidation of the structures and decorated surfaces, system upgrades, and enhancement of the area through print and digital communication tools".

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