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Dig around here at your peril.
These days, anyway.
At one stage, you could get away with cultural murder.
In 1884, for example. Laying a new track for a railway station just below the Zitadelle they stumble across some Roman ruins. Anyone looking? No? Good. Let’s knock them down and build the station as planned.
Turns out it was the foundation for the fly tower for the biggest Roman theatre north of the Alps, with a capacity of over 10,000.
People had been searching for it for decades….
The next bunch of accidental archaeologists was a gang of drain layers in 1914 who were clued up enough to pass the word on to the REAL archaeologists who acknowledged that the chance of getting funding in competition with the war that Kaiser Bill had just kicked off was pretty low, so they documented it and filled in the hole again.
Fast forward to 1998, when things started again in earnest.
By now they’ve got the foundations and the remnants of the pillars pretty well visible and concerts have been held in the original location, using temporary seating.
There’s supposedly an amphitheatre around here somewhere, too.
Now, where’s my shovel….?
Google Earth Streetview 39AD
Mainz Daily Photo 
>Thank goodness this much of it is safe, saved for future generations as well as the present. Thank goodness.Oh, here is my e-mail address if you still want to tell me about Auckland for my friend Brian–olhanson@gmail.com. Thanks.
>Wonderful information, John. What a find! But not really a new find, was it?! Glad some people had the good sense to recognize its value–and the money to make a difference!