What’s wrong with the ground over there? Construction workers in Spain took a closer look. The ground looked uneven. The workers started to dig in the bumpy spot. Three feet down, they found a stash of two-handled jars called amphorae. Once, people used amphorae to store things such as documents, oil, wine, or money. The construction site jars contained coins—1,300 pounds of them! Museum officials say the coins come from the Roman Empire in the fourth century. Now that’s a historic discovery!

You might wonder: If the coins come from Rome, how did they get all the way to Spain? In the fourth century, Spain was part of the Roman Empire. So was much of the island of Great Britain and parts of Asia and Africa. Rome was the empire’s capital city. That’s probably why it has survived so long! Rome went through many changes. Sometimes it grew. Sometimes it shrunk. It had good times. It had bad times too.

The founders of Rome picked an excellent spot for a city. They chose a place along the Tiber River where people could easily cross and trade with one another. Romans built walls around their city. As they conquered neighbors, their city expanded. They built new walls to fit their neighbors inside. At first, Romans served pagan gods. But by the time the coins were used, Christianity was the empire’s official religion. Rome’s prosperity did not last forever. The great city became a not-so-great place to live. Invaders attacked. The city’s water and sewer systems were destroyed. People got diseases. The city was almost completely abandoned. Later, the Catholic Church took charge of Rome. But the city took a long time to come back to life.

The people who spent the underground Roman coins lived in a very different world than the Romans cleaning up their city today! The coins represent a tiny slice in a long history. What is coming next for the old city?