Roman long lost twins m cracked#

If the casket is discovered, and if it does indeed have links to the legendary founder of Rome, the area will be opened to the public. The film portrays the early Romans as barbarians, almost like Stone Age people, but in fact they were very sophisticated with a highly developed social order.”

“We’ve been working on this project for years. “The release of the film is a coincidence,” said Prof Russo. Il Primo Re, or The First King, is a blood-soaked epic in which the actors converse in archaic Latin – it comes with subtitles in Italian. The search for the casket, which is due to start in the summer, comes as a new film about Romulus is released in Italy.

Roman long lost twins m cracked#

There are always elements of truth to foundation myths like this,” she said, standing on a cracked marble pavement beneath which the sarcophagus is thought to be hidden. According to legend, Romulus was murdered and dismembered by members of the Senate, before ascending to the heavens as a god.īut Alfonsina Russo, the director of the archeological area that includes the Forum, the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum, believes that the legend of the feuding brothers was based on the real founders of Rome. There is no concrete proof that Romulus and Remus existed. “We don’t expect to find any bodily remains – the cask was placed there about four centuries after Romulus’ death as a symbol, a memory of the man,” she said. “This is a new hypothesis, that the sarcophagus is linked to the cult of Romulus,” Patrizia Fortini, the archeologist in charge of the project, told The Telegraph as she surveyed the sight in the Forum, beneath a giant triumphal arch. The chamber was sealed and forgotten – until now. He glimpsed the stone casket during excavations in 1899 but did not make the link to Romulus. Instead, his servants left them on the riverbank, where they were found and suckled by a she-wolf, which remains the symbol of the city.Īrcheologists made a connection between the long-lost stone sarcophagus and Romulus after scouring classical texts, including accounts by Horace and Livy, as well as records left by a 19th century archeologist, Giacomo Boni. Romulus is said to have founded Rome in the 8th century BC after murdering his brother, Remus.Īccording to legend, the twins were ordered to be thrown into the Tiber in a basket by a vengeful king. The stone casket is believed to date from the 4th century BC, when it was placed inside a chamber in a mystical, sacred area of the Forum that celebrated the founding of Rome.Īrcheologists believe it lies around 10ft underground, buried out of sight beneath a building known as the Comitium – a precursor to the Roman Senate. They believe it lies hidden in a chamber deep beneath the Forum, once the heart of ancient Rome and now an area of ruined temples and imperial palaces that attracts millions of tourists a year. ROME – Archaeologists in Rome are to embark on a quest for a 2,500-year-old stone sarcophagus linked to the legend of the city’s fabled founder – Romulus. 2019) s.v., IL MESSAGGERO (), & Giacomo Boni, Guido Cirilli| Romolo Artioli (1907-08).

ROMA ARCHEOLOGIA e RESTAURO ARCHITETTURA: The Roman Forum & Curia Julia – Archeologists to embark on quest for long-lost sarcophagus of Romulus, legendary founder of Rome.