The discovery serves as a reminder of a tragic page in ancient history
Caligula's secret garden has been discovered 2,000 years later: archaeologists have discovered a «luxurious terrace» in Rome that belonged to the sexually depraved Roman emperor. Caligula is also remembered as perhaps the most cruel of all ancient Roman emperors.
A luxurious terrace where the most depraved emperor of ancient Rome insulted his subjects when they begged for help has been discovered in Italy on the way to build a new underground passage.
Despite reigning for only four years, Caligula is remembered as perhaps the most cruel, mad, twisted, extravagant and bloodthirsty of Roman emperors, writes the Daily Mail.
His reign was also marked by tense relations with the empire's Jews, and during his reign, the first anti-Semitic pogrom in history took place in Alexandria, Egypt, the British newspaper notes.
Now the very spot where a delegation of Alexandrian Jews begged Caligula for help has been discovered on the banks of Rome's Tiber during excavations for a new underground passage.
Daniela Porro, the special inspector for Rome who led the excavations, has no doubt that this is where the fateful – and ultimately futile – meeting took place.
«This is obviously the place,» she said. «We were lucky enough to find a fistula – a water pipe – in one of the walls with Caligula's name printed on it, indicating that the portico was built by him.»
The find is a brick and travertine marble wall that once formed a terrace on the banks of the Tiber River, with the foundations of a colonnaded portico behind.
There is also a large open area here that is believed to be the former Giardini Agrippina, meaning «Gardens of Agrippina», which were named after Caligula's mother.
The chimney that emerges from the portico bears the name of Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. This was the emperor's real name, the Daily Mail explains. Caligula was a nickname given to him as a child, when he wore imitation soldier's clothing complete with small boots or «caligae».
The location also matches the description given by a member of the Jewish delegation, Philo of Alexandria. In his Legatio ad Gaium, which means «Embassy to Gaius», he describes how Caligula «first received us kindly on the plains on the banks of the Tiber (for he happened to be walking in his mother's garden).»
Porro notes that the find surprised even the spoiled archaeologists of Rome. She said: «Whenever there is an excavation in Rome, it is easy to find archaeological finds. In this particular case, we knew that this was the area where the Horti of Agrippina and Domitia were located. These were magnificent imperial gardens with pavilions, porticoes and buildings for leisure. So we expected to find something interesting, but we did not expect to find the foundations of the Portico of Caligula.»
The Alexandria pogrom came at a time of rising tensions between the city's Jewish and Greek populations, the Daily Mail writes. Because of their monotheistic faith, the Jews were unable to comply with Caligula's order that they be worshiped as a living god. Under this pretext, Aulus Avilius Flaccus, the Roman governor of Egypt, rounded up the city's Jews and herded them into a ghetto.
Philo described the horrors that followed, saying that their enemies «slain them and thousands of others with all kinds of torments and tortures, as well as newly invented cruelties.»
“The most ruthless,” he said, “burned entire families, husbands and wives and small children with their parents, right in the middle of the city.”
In his memoirs, the historian describes the first meeting with Caligula on the banks of the Tiber as outwardly pleasant. He says that the emperor “spoke to us formally and waved his right hand patronizingly, showing us significant signs of his favor.”
He continued: “Everyone who stood around congratulated us, as if we had already achieved our goal , and all our compatriots did the same.»
But Philo was not fooled – and his cynicism was well founded, writes the Daily Mail. During their second meeting in Caligula's palace, Philo discovered that they «were confronted not by a judge but by an accuser», «an implacable tyrant displaying uncontrolled power, discontent and pride».
The emperor told them: «You hate God because you do not consider me a god, me whom all other nations have already acknowledged as a god, but you refuse to call him so.»
The most outrageous thing was that Caligula wanted to erect a statue of himself, similar to the statue of Jupiter, in the Second Temple of Jerusalem, the holiest place in Judaism, the Daily Mail emphasizes. Governor Publius Petronius, fearing a Jewish uprising, was able to delay the execution of the order until Caligula was assassinated in 41 AD.
After Caligula's death, the Agrippina gardens were eventually inherited by his nephew Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Daniela Porro says: «He decided to build his own theatre near the Portico of Caligula, the remains of which we discovered last year. During the subsequent Flavian dynasty, the portico and other buildings of the Agrippina gardens were destroyed or reused for other purposes. In fact, above the foundations of the Portico of Caligula, we found a fullonica, or laundry.»
She added that the finds will be dismantled, possibly to be exhibited in an open-air museum.
The excavations were coordinated by archaeologist Dora Cirone under the scientific direction of Alessio De Cristofaro.
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