Cave discovery something to howl about

Archaeologists claim this is the Lupercale cave, a place of worship for ancient Romans. Photo / Reuters

Italian archaeologists have unveiled the underground grotto believed to have been worshipped by ancient Romans as the place where a wolf nursed the city's legendary founder Romulus and his twin brother Remus.

Decorated with seashells and coloured marble, the vaulted sanctuary lies buried 16m inside the Palatine hill, the palatial centre of power in imperial Rome, archaeologists said.

Over the past two years experts have been probing the space using endoscopes and laser scanners, fearing that the fragile grotto, already partially caved-in, would not survive a full-scale dig, said Giorgio Croci, an engineer who worked on the site.

The archaeologists are convinced that they have found the place of worship where Romans believed a she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of the god of war, Mars, abandoned in a basket and left adrift on the River Tiber.

Thanks to the wolf, a symbol of Rome to this day, the twins survived and Romulus founded the city, becoming its first king after killing Remus in a power struggle.

Ancient texts say the grotto known as the "Lupercale" - from "lupa," Latin for she-wolf - was near the palace of Rome's first emperor Augustus, who was said to have restored it, and was decorated with a white eagle.

That symbol of the Roman Empire was found atop the sanctuary's vault, which lies just below the ruins of the palace built by Augustus, said Irene Iacopi, the archaeologist in charge of the Palatine and the Roman Forum.

Augustus, who ruled from the late 1st century BC to his death in the year 14, was keen on being close to the places of Rome's mythical foundation and used the city's religious traditions to bolster his hold on power, Iacopi said.

Andrea Carandini, a professor of archaeology at Rome's La Sapienza University and an expert on the Palatine, said the grotto was almost certainly the "Lupercale".

"The chances that it's not are minimal," said Carandini, who did not take part in the dig. "It's one of the greatest discoveries ever made."

Most of the sanctuary is filled with earth, but laser scans allowed experts to estimate that the circular structure has a height of 8m and a diameter of 7.5m, said Croci.

Iacopi said a new dig would start soon to find the grotto's original entrance at the bottom of the hill.

The Palatine is honeycombed with palaces and other ancient monuments, from the 8th-century BC remains of Rome's first fledgling huts to a medieval fortress and Renaissance villas. But the remains are fragile and plagued by collapses, leaving more than half of the hill, including Augustus' palace, closed to the public.