![Remains of medieval palace where popes lived possibly found in Rome](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/17/e4951122-20e8-4bd3-ba7a-42839410ffec/thumbnail/1200x630/679d67a3982c202f527d0b9c715e48e1/hl-45984250686.jpg?v=5710b2ed1cee1bdfd30cb9c02455b43d)
Remains of medieval palace where popes lived possibly found in Rome
CBSN
Archaeologists in Rome may have uncovered the remains of a medieval palace for popes that long preceded the Vatican, officials announced on Wednesday. If the ancient structure did in fact serve the purpose they believe it does, then learning more about it could provide new insight into the earlier eras of the papal seat in Italy and the power struggles that shaped it over time.
While excavating a piazza around the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in central Rome, a team of archaeologists happened to discover an advanced hidden structure, surrounded by walls that could have been built as early as the 9th century A.D., and as late as the 13th century, the Italian Ministry of Culture said in a news release.
The wall was potentially constructed as a means to physically create and protect the patriarchate of the time, which consisted of the patriarch, or leader, as well as his office. It may have encircled a castle or other fortified structure where various popes were said to have lived during the years it still stood.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20240903093544.jpg)
Kinshasa, Congo — An attempted jailbreak in Congo's main prison in the capital left at least 129 people dead, most of them in a stampede, authorities said Tuesday. A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were shot dead by "warning" gunshots as they tried to escape from the overcrowded Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa early Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on the social platform X.