Nero's rotating banquet hall unveiled in Rome

[caldrail]

The room, part of Nero's Golden Palace, a sprawling residence built in the first century A.D., is thought to have been built to entertain government officials and VIPs, said lead archaeologist Francoise Villedieu.

 

The emperor, known for his lavish and depraved lifestyle, ruled from 37 A.D. to 68 A.D.

Erm... No. Caligula ruled from 37 to 41, followed by Claudius, then Nero took the throne. He was born in December 37, and ruled from 54.

[Lee]

I was in Rome this August and found the site where they found the so called revolving dome of Nero.Attached are a photo of the sign they installed at the site and a quick shot I took through the fence. Wish I could have gotten closer.

 

 

 

 

[Lee]

For those following this story, here's a analytical view of the recent announcement. I'm kind of surprised that there hasn't been more suspicion of what was actually discovered from within the UNRV community.

Have we found Nero's rotating dining room?

by Mary Beard

 

The first I knew of this 'discovery' -- of Nero's famous dining room -- was when I got an email from the World Service, wondering if I had a view which could be broadcast. As it happened, I didn't (I had other things on today, even though the World Service is always worth helping out).

 

But I still haven't worked out what it was that had been 'discovered'.

 

The basic 'facts' go back to Suetonius, who claims in his 'Life of Nero' that in the famous 'Golden House'. Nero had some kind of revolving dining room: there were, Suetonius says, "dining rooms <plural> with fretted ceilings of ivory, whose panels could turn and shower down flowers and were fitted with pipes for sprinkling the guests with perfumes. The main banquet hall was circular and rotated day and night, like the heavens."

 

This vast palace took up huge tracts of land in the centre of Rome, but it has always been a bit unclear exactly what it looked like, and how far you could match up the literary descriptions with what remains on the ground.

 

And as usual there was a terrible temptation to equate what we can see with what the Romans wrote about.

 

I was always told that the "octagonal room" (in the picture) in the excavated area was what Suetonius was referring to. How exactly it rotated, or what rotated, is anyone's guess. But obviously that's been a bit massaged (or forgotten) in the new story.

 

I am actually a bit baffled by these recent archaeological discoveries. I have only looked at them briefly. But where exactly ARE they? And, honestly, does a big pillar really prove that we have got a rotating dining room... and what exactly rotated anyway?

 

I half suspect that no such thing as a rotating dining room existed. But even if it did, I still don't see why these remains really do reveal whatever it was that Suetonius was talking about.

 

More to the point, how far do we really understand Nero's 'Golden House'? I have away thought that the excavated area might actually all be the servants' wing (despite the big 'octagonal room') -- and all the plush, celebrity areas were elsewhere.

 

Maybe.. but if anyone can help with this 'discovery' (like where is it), please tell. I always suspect with this kind of thing that there is an over optimistic attempt to match up the extravagant literary account with what remains under the ground.

 

And I suspect that the PR department is somewhere near -- plugging the "Nero connection" for all it's worth.

[Lee]

I found the site of the "revolving dome" this August. Wish I could have gotten a bit closer but here are 2 quick shots I took at the dig