[MR] Italian expert skeptical of sacred Roman cave on Yahoo! News

[David Chessler]

Photos in the original. See also original story in London Telegraph


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071123/od_nm/archaeology_cave_dc

Reuters Photo: The Lupercalia cave, a structure 
rebuilt at Palatine hill during the reign of Roman emperor...

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071123/od_nm/archaeology_cave_dc




Italian expert skeptical of sacred Roman cave

By Silvia Aloisi Fri Nov 23, 2:17 PM ET

ROME (Reuters) - A leading Italian archaeologist 
said Friday that the grotto whose discovery was 
announced this week in Rome is not the sacred 
cave linked to the myth of the city's foundation by Romulus and Remus.


The Culture Ministry and experts who presented 
the find said they were "reasonably certain" the 
cavern is the Lupercale -- a sanctuary worshipped 
for centuries by Romans because, according to 
legend, a wolf nursed the twin brothers there.

But Adriano La Regina, Rome's superintendent of 
archaeology from 1976 to 2004, said ancient 
descriptions of the place suggest the Lupercale 
is elsewhere -- 50 to 70 meters northwest of the 
cave discovered near Emperor Augustus' palace. "I 
am positive this is not the Lupercale," La Regina told Reuters in an interview.

Instead, he believes the cave -- which ministry 
pictures show is decorated with well-preserved 
seashells and colored mosaics -- was a room in 
Nero's first palace on the Palatine Hill, which 
burnt down in 64 AD in the great fire of Rome.

The Culture Ministry had no immediate comment on 
the statements from La Regina, who pointed to a 
description of the Lupercale given by Greek 
historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus in his major 
work on early Roman history, "Roman Antiquities."

Dionysius said the Lupercale, which draws its 
name from the Latin word for wolf, was close to 
the Temple of Victory, also on the Palatine Hill, 
while the cave unveiled this week was found near the Temple of Apollo.

"If this were the Lupercale, Dionysius would have 
surely mentioned the Temple of Apollo, which was 
much bigger and more famous than the Temple of Victory," said La Regina.

He said the mosaics and other decorations found 
in the cave were typical of Nero's era and its 
structure similar to a grotto found in the 
emperor's new palace, the lavish Domus Aurea 
(House of Gold) he built after his first mansion went up in flames.

According to La Regina, the cave was a nymphaeum, 
or an artificial grotto used for dinners and 
receptions, which often had a fountain.

"This remains a great discovery because it is so well-preserved," he said.

The cave was found thanks to a camera probe 16 
meters (52 feet) underground in a previously 
unexplored area during restoration work on the 
palace of Augustus, the first Roman emperor.

According to the myth, Romulus and Remus, twin 
sons of the god Mars, were abandoned in a cradle 
by the banks of the river Tiber where a wolf 
found them and fed them with her milk.

The brothers are said to have founded Rome at the 
site on April 21, 753 B.C. and ended up fighting 
over who should rule. Romulus killed Remus and became the first king of Rome.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Michael Winfrey)


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