More Evidence Suggests Villa on Mount Vesuvius Belonged to Rome's First Emperor

SOMMA VESUVIANA, ITALY—Japanese archaeologists found further evidence that a large ancient villa buried on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy may have belonged to the Roman emperor Augustus (reigned 27 b.c.–a.d. 14), The Mainichi reports. The sprawling 40,000-square-foot property, which was buried by the a.d. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, is located in an area where Augustus’ noble family is known to have had an estate. Archaeologists have been excavating the site at Somma Vesuviana for two decades, and while they have uncovered the remains of a luxurious villa that they suspect belonged to Augustus, there has been no indisputable evidence directly linking it to the emperor. However, a team from the University of Tokyo recently unearthed five large furnaces that were used to heat an enormous bath complex. Lead archaeologist Mariko Muramatsu believes that the structure is so large, it only could have been owned by the wealthy Augustus. “There has never been a case where five large furnaces have been excavated from an Italian site,” she said. “It makes sense as an explanation that no one else but the emperor could make such a magnificent feat possible.” For more, go to "Letter from Vesuvius: Digging on the Dark Side of the Volcano."