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SPQR - News Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
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SPQR News
Archaeology news on Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire _______________
Archeology news from around the world |
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Cave May Hold Secrets to Legend of Ancient Rome By PETER KIEFER
Italian archaeologists have inched closer to unearthing the secrets behind one of Western civilization’s most enduring legends.
The Italian government on Tuesday released the first images of a deep cavern where some archaeologists believe that ancient Romans honored Romulus and Remus — the legendary founders of Rome.
The cavern, now buried 50 feet under the ruins of the palace of Emperor Augustus on the Palatine Hill, is about 23 feet high and 21 feet in diameter. Photographs taken by a camera probe show a domed cavern decorated with extremely well-preserved colored mosaics and seashells. At its center is a painted white eagle, a symbol of the Roman empire.
“This could reasonably be the place bearing witness to the myth of Rome,” Francesco Rutelli, Italy’s culture minister, said Tuesday at a news conference in Rome at which a half dozen photographs were displayed.
The legend concerns Lupercal, the mythical cave where Romulus and Remus — the sons of the god Mars who were abandoned by the banks of the Tiber — were discovered by a female wolf who suckled them until they were found and reared by a shepherd named Faustulus. The brothers are said to have founded Rome in 753 B.C. The legend culminates in fratricide, when Romulus kills his twin in a power struggle.
The cave later became a sacred location where the priests of Lupercus, a pastoral god, celebrated ceremonies until A.D. 494, when Pope Gelasius I ended the practice.
The cave was discovered in January by Irene Iacopi, the archaeologist in charge of Palatine Hill, which abuts the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. It was found during restoration work on the palace of Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, after workers took core samples that alerted them to the presence of a cave.
“This is one of the most important discoveries of all time,” said Andrea Carandini, a prominent Italian archaeologist. He has long held that the myths of ancient Rome could be true. He said he derived added satisfaction from the cave’s location.
“The fact that this sanctuary is under the lower part of the house of Augustus is significant because Augustus was a kind of Romulus himself who refounded Rome — and he did it in the place where Romulus had been,” he said.
Experts said the positioning of the cave, at the base of a hill between the Temple of Apollo and the Church of St. Anastasia, could prove problematic for excavation because of the risk of further collapse.
“We will continue the work with very much caution,” Ms. Iacopi said. |
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New findings around the Colosseum The work to repave the area around the base of the Colosseum on its western side has brought to light new archaeological findings.
Ancient marble staircase found in Rome ROME, April 20 (UPI) -- Italian archeologists said an ancient staircase made of marble was uncovered during excavations beneath Rome's Piazza Venezia.
Rome celebrates jubilee Ancient Rome enthusiasts have paraded in front of the Coliseum as part of celebrations to mark Rome's jubilee. Several hundred people from Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom marched through ancient Rome's centre dressed as centurions and legionnaires.
Ostia Antica is a ruin, but it once buzzed with commercial activity When in Rome, many travelers focus only on the blockbusters. Such as the Colosseum, where so many men and beasts gave their lives for a bit of jolly fun for a bloodthirsty audience.
The Complete Guide To: Hadrian's Empire With a domain stretching from the Sahara to Cumbria, this Roman emperor was always on the move – and he left a legacy that remains to this day.
Rare Statue of Roman Emperor Found ROME (AP) — Italian police have recovered a rare statue of a Roman emperor who co-ruled alongside Marcus Aurelius and was known for his reluctance to sit for portraits.
Subway Dig Unearths Rome's Ancient Past It's been centuries since archaeologists excavated Rome's central Piazza Venezia, but just a few hundred yards from the Roman Forum, skeletons of the city's past are surfacing.
Ancient Love Stars at Rome's Eros Exhibit An exhibit in Rome aims to explain the role of Eros, the most powerful and most elusive of the ancient gods. The show at the Colosseum seeks to illustrate the huge gap between contemporary attitudes to erotic love and how the subject was treated in antiquity.
Wife-beating in Ancient Rome For all the glory and glamour of its art and literature, classical antiquity produces household statistics that make the heart sink. Greek and Roman girls were normally married in their mid-teens to men twice their age.
Bound to repeat it: The late American empire? If a present-day American suddenly warped backwards in time, he would likely find the streets of ancient Rome, during the city's cosmopolitan zenith, a comfortable enough place to visit.
Light Beams to Color Rome Column April 10, 2008 -- The Trajan Column, one of Rome's most famous monuments, will be shown next year under a totally new light.
Ancient statue discovered in Rome Rome, 9 April (AKI) - A fragment of an ancient Roman equestrian statue that once adorned the Colosseum has been found during excavations near the world famous Italian landmark.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Imperious in Rome April 10, 2008 · Lovers of ancient Rome have another treasure to behold as the home where future Roman Emperor Augustus lived in about 30 BC is now open to the public.
Limit the number of tourists to Pompeii, says expert 17 March (AKI) - Pompeii, one of Italy's most popular ancient attractions, should limit the number of visitors and be used for special events, according to a proposal from a leading tourism official.
Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. changed the world Washington, March 31: The Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. between Mark Antony and Cleopatra against spurned former ally Octavian, led to the eventual end of the Roman Republic, thus changing the world.
Houston museum shows latest Pompeii relics - Thursday, March 20, 2008 "The worst disaster of the ancient world preserved such amazing art." So says Frances Marzio, strolling among remains from one of history's most famous volcanic eruptions.
After 1,500 years as a ruin,Circus Maximus to be restored It still bears its thrilling ancient name, and the antique ruins on the Palatine Hill, the heart of ancient Rome and home of the Caesars, still gaze down upon it.
Ancient Roman Emperor Augustus first house opens in Rome Italian experts believe the rooms, found in the 1970s below the ruins of Augustus's sprawling imperial palace, were part of a smaller house where he lived when he was still just Julius Caesar's adoptive son Octavian and not Rome's first emperor.
Ancient Roman Temple Reconstructed Experts have digitally reconstructed one of Rome's earliest major temples, the Temple of Apollo, built by the first Roman emperor, Augustus. The temple dates to 28 B.C., and its ruins stand adjacent to the emperor's imperial palaces on the city's famous Palatine Hill.
The overlooked wonders of Italy's Ostia Antica Sitting on the top row of the ancient arena, I scan the ruins of Ostia Antica, letting my imagination take me back 2,000 years to the days when this was ancient Rome's seaport, a thriving commercial center of 60,00 people.
Appian Way blighted by voracious property developers It was the first modern road in the world, shooting like an arrow from the Porta Capena in Rome's city walls all the way to Brindisi on the Adriatic coast, more than 500km away.
Tourists 'stripping ancient Rome bare' Archaeologists said that Trajan's Forum, in the heart of the city's classical ruins, had been stripped of all the fragments of statues and shards of amphorae that adorned the site until recently. |
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Egypt: Tomb of Cleopatra and lover to be uncovered
Cairo, 24 April(AKI) - Archaeologists have revealed plans to uncover the 2000 year-old tomb of ancient Egypt's most famous lovers, Cleopatra and the Roman general Mark Antony later this year.
Zahi Hawass, prominent archaeologist and director of Egypt's superior council for antiquities announced a proposal to test the theory that the couple were buried together.
He discussed the project in Cairo at a media conference about the ancient pharaohs.
Hawass said that the remains of the legendary Egyptian queen and her Roman lover, Mark Antony, were inside a temple called Tabusiris Magna, 30 kilometres from the port city of Alexandria in northern Egypt.
Until recently access to the tomb has been hindered because it is under water, but archaeologists plan to drain the site so they can begin excavation in November.
Among the clues to suggest that the temple may contain Cleopatra's remains is the discovery of numerous coins with the face of the queen.
According to Hawas, Egyptologists have also uncovered a 120-metre-long underground tunnel with many rooms, some of which could contain more details about Cleopatra.
Born in Rome, Mark Antony was a military general and commander, as well as supporter of Julius Caesar. He was also Cleopatra's lover and bore him a son, called Caesarion.
After Julius Caesar's assassination in March 44 B.C., Antony formed a triumvirate with Octavian, also known as Augustus, and Marcus Lepidus.
Civil war ensued in Rome due to disagreements between Antony and Octavian, who was Julius Caesar's heir and who later became Rome's first emperor.
Antony was subsequently defeated by Octavian and he later committed suicide.
Cleopatra, who came to power at 18 years of age, was once the ruler of Egypt and considered the last of seven queens of the same name.
She was famous for her intelligence, her beauty and her political power.
Cleopatra who also bore Mark Antony twins, committed suicide after his death in August 30 B.C. |