As we prepare our bags to go off for a summer holiday, or meander through the narrow, brightly-lit streets of an ancient European neighbourhood, we are not merely walking on plain road surfaces of asphalt or stone. Instead, we are walking above layers of earlier urban life hidden beneath the surface. In many ancient settlements, a labyrinthine world, spanning many generations, is buried under the streets and modern coffee shops of today. Over centuries, residents built new structures on top of earlier remains, leaving layers of stone and foundations behind.
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