Italy: 2,000-year-old hall where emperor & knights partied discovered

Newswire

Rome: Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed a massive hall where an emperor and knights partied some 2,000 years ago.

The hall, discovered by researchers at the Università di Napoli L’Orientale in Naples, was located in the seaside home of Vedio Pollione, a Roman knight and politician who lived in the 1st century BCE, according to the school.

Located on a cliff in Posillipo, an elite suburb in the city 150 miles south of Rome, it was known for its parties attended by Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

Pollione and Augustus had a falling out, but when Pollione died in 15 B.C., he left his lavish residence to Augustus, who renovated it.

Archaeologists reported it was decorated with a carpet made of black and white mosaics.

“A stratigraphic dating is still missing, but based on the style, the hall could date back to the late Republican age or Augustan at the latest,” excavation leader Marco Giglio said in the release.

The research team happened upon it while investigating the upper baths of the residence and its terrace, which was used during World War II for weapons.

The sprawling property featured a 2,000-seat Greek-style theater on rocky land that overlooks the bay, and a odeon, a building used for musical performances.