Caligula's resting place finally found... after police arrest tomb raider trying to steal statue
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 7:28 PM on 18th January 2011
Last updated at 7:28 PM on 18th January 2011
Big dig: The statue, like this one at the Louvre in Paris, is believed to be worth over £800,000
The tomb of Caligula has been unearthed in Italy almost 2,000 years after his death, it has been claimed.
Italian police said the discovery was made after a man was arrested trying to smuggle abroad a statue of the Roman emperor which had been stolen from the site.
The final resting place of the debauched tyrant has been shrouded in mystery since he was murdered by his own bodyguards in AD 41, aged 28.
As a ruler, his name became synonymous with cruelty, promiscuity and, eventually, insanity.
His madness reportedly peaked when he made his favourite horse, Incitatus, his personal advisor and a high priest.
He is also alleged to have slept with his sisters, turned the royal palace into a brothel and once, while watching some games, threw an entire section of the crowd into the arena to be eaten by animals because there were no criminals left and he was bored.
Such was his reputation for debauchery, that an adult film was made of his life, part-financed by Penthouse magazine and starring Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole and Malcolm McDowell in 1979.
With most of his statues destroyed after his death by the senators and guards that organised his assassination, archeologists are keen to excavate his remains.
Picturesque: The site was discovered at Lake Nemi, south of Rome. There Caligula had a villa, a floating temple and a floating palace
The tomb raider was arrested near Italy's Lake Nemi, about 20 miles south of Rome, as he loaded part of the 2.5-metre statue into a lorry.
The emperor had a villa there, as well as a floating temple and a floating palace.
Police said the figure was wearing a pair of 'caligae', the military boot after which the emperor, real name Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, was nicknamed.
He gained the name after accompanying his father Tiberius on campaigns in Germany and amused soldiers with his miniature uniform who came to call him Caligula, meaning 'little boot'.
Movie madness: The 1979 film Caligula, starring Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell (pictured), was the first motion picture that featured mainstream Hollywood actors that contained explicit sex scenes
The statue is thought to be worth over £800,000.
Its rare Greek marble, throne and god's robes have convinced the police it came from the emperor's tomb.
After interrogation, the smuggler showed them the site, where excavations are due to start today.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348356/Caligulas-tomb-police-arrest-raider-trying-steal-statue.html#ixzz1BRNpACIO
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