2,000-year-old rare Roman staircase found - by accident

Have you ever found something really, really old?

Maybe you've discovered old photos in your house, an unusual coin, or even a fossil on a walk.

Well, builders in Cologne in Germany has a surprise recently when they uncovered the remains of an ancient Roman structure.

While working on an underground tour at a museum, they uncovered the remains of an ancient Roman site that is around 2,000 years old.

The most exciting find was a rare stone staircase from the late 1st century. Roman staircases are rarely found intact, so this was a very special discovery.

The finds were buried underneath the LVR Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Quarter of the city.

The staircase once led from a large palace, called the praetorium (the residence of a Roman commanding officer or governor).

The steps were needed because the land slopes down towards the River Rhine.

Later Roman building work covered part of the stairs, which actually helped to protect them for centuries.

The uncovered site also revealed the massive foundations to what would have been a 4th century Roman basilica, or church.

The City of Cologne authorities say that usually it's only the foundations of buildings that survive, rather than the actual objects and structure inside.

In the ruins, a small private household altar from the 2nd century was also discovered. This kind of altar was called a lararium, built into a wall.

Roman families would place small figurines inside and leave food offerings for the Lares - their household gods.

The city says that the discoveries are similar to examples found from Pompeii - one of the most famous Roman sites in the world.