On the bottom of the Venice canals...?

Question

have these been archeologically researched and have there been (or could there be) any finds to be done? I know there is probably a lot of modern rubbish around but it is a city with a rich history so could there be interesting things beneath the water?

Answer 1

They were originally used as open sewers. You know open a window and empty a bucket, ugh!

Answer 2

Venice is really a wonderful cliché, more intimate, more wonderful and more shocking than you could expect. Irrespective of how many pictures or shows you might have observed, it is however a jaw-dropping experience viewing Venice's canals and palaces for the first time and that you would do with the aid of this web site hotelbye . Undoubtedly Venice's best-known church and one of the most quickly acknowledged in the world is St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco). That basilica was formerly the Doge's private chapel, furnished with Byzantine art pieces which can be part of the booty cut back by Venetian ships after the drop of Constantinople. The gold-backed mosaic pictures above the doorways on the façade just touch at the mosaic art inside, where 4,240 square meters of gold mosaics cover the walls. So, the St. Mark`s Basilica is just a place worth visited.

Answer 3

There are more then 250 submerged archaeological sites identified in and around Venice.

"ArcheoRisk: a Decision Support System on the
Environmental Risk for Archeological Sites in the Venice
Lagoon", Claudio Carlon et al., :
http://www.iemss.org/iemss2002/proceedings/pdf/volume%20uno/257_carlon.pdf

It seems that still a lot of work has to be done on the "rio terra", or "dirt rivers", canals that have been filled in.

"The Austrians, in particular, decommissioned them at a frantic pace during their 19th century occupation, as they thought that the canals were a source of disease."

"Urban Archeology in Venice", in "Veniceblog", 2007-04-10 :
http://veniceblog.typepad.com/veniceblog/2004/05/urban_archeolog.html

Maybe some more specific information can be found at the websites of the National Archeological Museum of Venice, and the University of Venice, which has a archaeological department :

English-language website : http://www.unive.it/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=10497

In fact, a lot of recent archeological discoveries all over the world are the result of the recent interest in digging up old sewers, garbage pits and midden heaps!

Answer 4

Venice is built on Wooden Logs and it is sinking.......slowly.

Answer 5

Have a look Ellie. Bet you will be amazed at what you find.