Parts of my local are 600 years old, and there's a Roman road about 5 minutes walk away from my house. I'm always amazed when I look at an Ordnance Survey map and see the amount of tumulus (burial mound) and other ancient structures. We are surrounded by history but mostly unaware of it. I sometimes wonder about what's out there waiting to be discovered. Perhaps one day we'll have archaeological drones roaming around looking for undiscovered treasures.
You're living in the past. (-:
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12326425
Quite a long way in the past.
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17496989
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44806069
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-4...
That's not what I'm thinking of really - I should have been clearer - I was thinking more of something like the Mars Curiosity rover - autonomous drones, not necessarily aerial, probably solar powered, able to roam around on their own for months/years at a time looking for interesting stuff.
A couple of weeks ago I had a pint at the Kirkstone Pass Inn [0] and was thinking about Triggers Broom [1]. The foundations of the core of that Inn date back to 1496, but clearly the carpets aren't that old.
At what stage does a building become new? Lincoln Cathedral was built in 1072, but rebuilt in 1185. The Man and Scythe (a pub) in Bolton was rebuilt as recently as 1636, but the front of the building is only 100 or so years old. The cellar probably predates the 1636 year, and there was a pub of that name in 1251. Exact details of when old buildings (which are still in use) are rebuilt are typically lost to history.
[0] http://www.kirkstonepassinn.com/about.htm [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus