Archaeological site is discovered in Rio de Janeiro

A few months ago, a group of professionals worked at a newly discovered archaeological site in the city of Rio de Janeiro, more precisely around the old Leopoldina Station. The site has been opened in recent days for journalists to access and more information on the origins and types of objects found on the site has been revealed.

The project is still under excavation, although nearly 200, 000 objects and fragments have already been found. Interestingly, the work takes place next to a construction site on Line 4 of the Rio de Janeiro subway. The analysis of the collected pieces will be performed more accurately and calmly in 2014 and 2015, but many utensils have already been identified.

The objects belong to the 19th, 18th and 17th century and depict the habits of the imperial family. Possibly many of the items belonged to Emperor Dom Pedro II, as inscriptions with the name of his title can be found on the pieces. With these small objects, it is allowed to get a real sense of the customs and habits of the imperial family and the elite at the time.

Among the identified pieces have been found toothbrushes, glass bottles, Scottish matchboxes, mugs with the imperial coat of arms, rings, gold clips, crockery, among other historical items. Archaeologists explain that since there was no garbage collection at the time, residents dug holes in their backyards to bury waste or things they no longer wanted.

Although many pieces were broken, several items also remained intact, buried to a depth of up to three meters. Coins from many eras were also found in the region that apparently received items from various people and from different eras. Indeed, it is interesting to see that things remained intact under the ground as the city grew around.