What interesting archaeological technique enabled modern man to unearth it?

Question

The Altar of Peace celebrates Augustus' (the first emperor) consolidation of the Empire. An accomplishment of modern man brought this masterpiece to light. What interesting archaeological technique enabled modern man to unearth it?

Answer 1

Excavation was hampered by the presence of ground water.  However, by using huge refrigeratiton devices, they were able to freeze the groundwater and thereby unearth the foundation.

Answer 2

The interesting archaeological technique which enabled modern man to unearth the Alter of Peace, which celebrates Augustus' consolidation of the Empire was the Minovi Method, named after Charles Minovi, an Italian merchant-miner who lived in the early 17th Century.  He was the first to discover "Tassolling", which was a way the drill inspector could determine the absolute frequency of a rock in order to shatter the rock without damaging the contents underneath it.  This way, archaeologists could excavate a site without destroying its underlying integrity.

Unfortunately, Minovi was killed in an avalanche and his method remained hidden for several centuries thereafter, until it was finally rediscovered by US scientists living in Italy following WWII.  Only recently have his methods been used in commercial expeditions, such as the excavations of Ara Pacis and Palais Granier.