Archeologists have uncovered a suspected long-lost shrine to Rome’s founding father and first king which dates back 2,600 years.
The new find was unearthed within the ruins of Italy’s iconic Roman Forum and consists of a stone coffin along with a cylinder-shaped stone block, which may have served as an altar.
Both are made of tuff – a type of rock formed of volcanic ash – carved from the Capitoline Hill that overlooks the Forum, and which is home to the modern-day City Hall.
Archaeologist Patrizia Fortini said the recently excavated area “represents a place, which in history and in the Roman imagination, speaks about the cult of Romulus.”
However, she also clarified that the sarcophagus would not have contained the bones of Romulus who, with his twin Remus, established the city near the Tiber River in around 753 BC and founded the kingdom of Rome.
It is likely to date to the 6th century BC, some 200 years after Romulus’s time.
Also, Ms Fortini added: “We don’t know whether Romulus physically existed,” the way he was described in legends.
But some ancient sources claimed that Romulus was buried in the area of the find, and the sarcophagus could have served as a memorial.
Alfonsina Russo, the archaeologist in charge of the site, noted that according to some ancient traditions, Romulus was killed and chopped to pieces, or ascended into heaven.
“Therefore this cannot be his tomb, but it is very likely, we believe, that this is a memorial site, a cenotaph,” Ms Russo added.
While excavations continue, authorities hope the public will be able to stroll underground to view the find in about two years.
Legend holds that Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf as babies, but later Romulus killed his twin brother in a dispute over the founding of Rome.
