The villa was relocated by aerial photography during the extremely dry summer of 1976, when parch marks of buried walls were recorded spread across three fields.
It's great that people who know the site really well and look at it every day were able to spot these parch marks and recognize them for what they were.
Treacherous river crossings, unpredictable beasts, bone-chilling cold, searing heat, parching thirst, bad water, irascible tempers, and heroic cooperation all became real to him.
When the magic is gone, it's generally gone for good: cut your losses and get out rather than hanging around parching yourself on a dried-out well of ideas.