The doors to the exquisitely preserved frescoed rooms in the ruined house of Augustus will be opened for the general public for the first time since they were unearthed nearly half a century ago.
London, Mar 8 : The doors to the exquisitely preserved frescoed rooms in the ruined house of Augustus will be opened for the general public for the first time since they were unearthed nearly half a century ago.
Archaeologists claimed that the future emperor lived in the house on the Palatine Hill above the Forum around 30BC, before he gained supreme power and built his imperial palace complex higher up the hill.
The paintings have been restored at a cost of nearly 1.5 million pounds, reports TimesOnline.
The wall and ceiling paintings in the house, discovered in the 1960s by the Italian archeologist, Gianfilippo Carrettoni, are in vivid red, blue and ochre. They include a small study, believed to have been Augustus's private retreat.
Augustus was the great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, and took the name Augustus on becoming sole ruler in 27BC after the civil wars that followed Caesar's assassination. His rise ended the Roman Republic and marked the beginning of the Roman Empire. He died in 14AD.
ANI