Google Maps is already one of the most exciting tools on the internet, allowing users to zoom into satellite images of cities around the world, often getting close enough to spot individual vehicles. As Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters surged into New Orleans on 31 August, Google was able to post a zoomable satellite view of the city, allowing users to observe the devastation for themselves. It was, then, only a matter of time before technology so inspiring would create news stories itself.

Computer programmer Luca Mori hit the headlines this week when he discovered the remains of a Roman villa that had previously eluded Italy's archaelogists. While browsing high-definition images of the countryside around Parma, he spotted a shaded region which he first thought was a stain on the map. Zooming in, however, he discovered a 500ml oval that appeared to be surrounded by other dark shapes. When Mori contacted local archaelogists, they probed the site and discovered it was indeed the remains of an extensive villa compound, built around the time of Christ.

No big news story these days is complete without a blog, and Moro has responded to the enormous global interest in his discovery by dedicating an online journal to the story, which he has also been covering in detail on the Cyberarchaelogist.net site. He points to several other odd features on local satellite images, perhaps suggesting that Google Maps is likely to uncover yet more historical secrets.

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Related links

• Quelli della bassa
• Cyberarchaeologist.net