Another 'Myth' Found to Have a Historical Basis

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Roman myth for real?

Have archeologists found the real-life site of the Roman myth of

Romulus and Remus?

 

Rome's Palatine Hill shows new treasures By ARIEL DAVID, Associated

Press Writer

Tue Jan 23, 11:14 PM ET

 

ROME - Work on Rome's Palatine Hill has turned up a trove of

discoveries, including what might be the underground grotto where

ancient Romans believed a wolf nursed the city's legendary founders

Romulus and Remus.

Archaeologists gathered Tuesday at a conference to save crumbling

monuments on the Palatine discussed findings of studies on the

luxurious imperial homes threatened by collapse and poor maintenance

that have forced the closure of much of the hill to the public.

 

While funds are still scarce, authorities plan to reopen some key

areas of the honeycombed hill to tourists by the end of the year,

including frescoed halls in the palaces of the emperor Augustus and

of his wife, Livia.

 

After being closed for decades, parts of the palaces will be opened

for guided tours while restoration continues, officials said.

 

It was during the restoration of the palace of Rome's first emperor

that workers taking core samples from the hill found what could be a

long-lost place of worship believed by ancient Romans to be the cave

where a she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, the abandoned twin sons

of the god of war Mars.

 

Irene Iacopi, the archaeologist in charge of the Palatine and the

nearby Roman Forum, said experts used a probe to peer into the 52-

foot-deep cavity and found a vaulted space decorated with frescoes,

niches and seashells. It is too early to say for sure whether the

worship place known as "lupercale"_ from "lupa," Latin for wolf — has

been found, but Roman texts say that it was close to Augustus' palace

and that the emperor had restored it, Iacopi said.

 

"It was a very important symbolic place and we believe that it was

well preserved," said Giovanna Tedone, an architect leading the work

at the palace. Archaeologists are now looking for the grotto's

entrance, she said.

 

Other finds to have emerged recently from the Palatine's largely

unexplored palaces and temples include an ancient Roman sewer,

insignia believed to have belonged to the emperor Maxentius, terra-

cotta statues and an alabaster tiger striped with gray marble.

 

Officials said the resurfaced treasures highlight the importance of a

hill so favored by the rich and powerful that its name is at the

origin of the words "palace" in English, "palais" in French

and "palazzo" in Italian.

 

Today rainwater seeps through stones, roots bore through bricks and

retaining walls crack under layer after layer of construction, from

the eighth-century B.C. remains of Rome's first fledgling huts to a

medieval fortress and Renaissance villas.

 

Only a quarter of the Palatine's nearly 500 buildings are above the

ground and just 40 percent of the hill's 67 acres can be visited.

 

The latest closure came in November 2005, when a 16th-century wall

collapsed one night in a well-visited area near the emperor Tiberius'

palace. No one was hurt, but the collapse prompted authorities to

study the stability of the hill and its monuments.

 

Experts said Tuesday they are considering restoring the ancient Roman

sewage system to help drain rainwater.

 

Each year, 4 million people buy a ticket granting access to the

Palatine and the nearby Colosseum, but 90 percent of them just go to

the ancient arena, said Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli. The

minister said that $9 million will be available in 2007 for more

restoration on collapse-prone areas such as Tiberius' palace.

http://news./s/ap/20070124/ap_on_sc/italy_ailing_rome_6