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Though much of it has been covered up over the centuries, an 11-mile stretch remains as the Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica, leading from the imposing gateway of the Porta San Sebastiano in the southern suburbs of Rome.

And they're nothing special, really – walk along the Via Appia Antica, or Appian Way, and you'll come face to face with the past at every step.

That's the lure of the Appia Antica – it's a space where time seems to melt.

Debate continues among archaeologists over the interconnection between the Via Nova and the Via Appian — whether they were side by side, whether the Nova was placed directly above the older road, or whether Septimius merely widened the Appia to create the Nova.

Last July, a team of archaeologists began a hunt for the lost starting point of the Via Appia by excavating a site in front of a row of ancient shops — still visible — that were once part of the monumental entrance to the thermal baths that the Emperor Caracalla built in A.D.