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Emperor Nero's "rotating" dining room found, archaeologists say
Sep 29, 2009, 15:50 GMT
Rome - Architects in Rome said Tuesday they have unearthed a 'rotating room' believed to have been built by the Roman Emperor Nero to entertain dinner guests.
The 'unprecedented' find was made during excavations in the Domus Aurea or 'Golden House' on the Palatine Hill - one of Ancient Rome's fabled Seven Hills - the site's supervisor Maria Antonietta Tomei, said.
Experts believe the room, supported by a 4-metre diameter pillar, was rotated day and night to imitate the Earth's movement.
To date, excavations have only brought to light the foundation of the room, which, the experts say, could be the one described by the ancient historian Suetonius in his Lives of the Caesars.
It was one of the many attractions on show at the Domus Aurea, built by the notorious Nero on the ruins of a fire that destroyed much of the city in 64 AD.
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