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NERO'S ROTATING DINING ROOM

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Qoais
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« on: September 30, 2009, 09:37:37 am »

Hell, I never ever heard tell of Nero having a rotating dining room.  What a surprise to say the least!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1216986/Roman-Emperor-Neros-legendary-rotating-dining-room-uncovered-archaeologists.html

Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be the Roman emperor Nero's fabled rotating dining room.
The 'coenatio rotunda', which was discovered in the remains of the first century Golden Palace on Rome's Palatine Hill, is thought to be the one described by the Roman historian Suetonius in Lives of the Caesars.
He wrote: 'The chief banqueting room was circular, and revolved perpetually night and day in imitation of the motion of the celestial bodies.'
It is in these luxurious surroundings that Nero, surrounded by fawning admirers, would have indulged in sexual depravity and held banquets which lasted 'from noon till midnight'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1216986/Roman-Emperor-Neros-legendary-rotating-dining-room-uncovered-archaeologists.html#ixzz0SbI8DyVB



Archaeologists examine a 4m diameter pillar found on the Palatine Hill in Rome, believed to have been part of the Roman emperor Nero's legendary rotating dining room. The researchers believe the pillar was part of the overall structure that supported the rotating dining room
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1216986/Roman-Emperor-Neros-legendary-rotating-dining-room-uncovered-archaeologists.html#ixzz0SbIeAJQI

All the dining rooms had ceilings of fretted ivory, the panels of which could slide back and let a rain of flowers, or of perfume from hidden sprinklers, fall on his guests.'
The rotating dining room had a diameter of more than 50ft and rested upon a 13ft-wide pillar and four spherical mechanisms that rotated the structure.
The mechanism was a feat of Roman engineering, and moved thanks to the spheres beneath the wooden floor of the room, kept in constant movement by water being forced against them. Quite how this worked is still being researched.
Experts believe the dining room could be up to 60m long, but have so far uncovered several supporting pillars, one 4m in diameter, as well as a perimeter wall.
Archaeologist Maria Antonietta Tomei told how it was the circular shape of the building and the stone spheres that led the team to believe they had found the rotating dining room.
She said:'This discovery has no equal among ancient Roman architectural finds.'
The significance of the find was highlighted after the city's commissioner for archaeology, Roberto Cecchi, announced the availability of new funds to verify the 'hypothesis'.
The find was made during excavation of the Domus Aurea or 'Golden House' on the Palatine Hill - one of Ancient Rome's fabled Seven Hills.
The Palatine Hill is the centremost of the Seven Hills and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. According to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave, known as the Lupercal, where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive.
They were the traditional founders of Rome.
The palace was one of Nero's most extravagant projects and was more a sprawl of buildings over a landscaped 'countryside' as opposed to a single structure.
Just outside the entrance stood a 120ft high bronze statue of the emperor while inside the palace grounds was an amphitheatre, a bath complex, served by an 50-miles aqueduct long.
There were also gardens, waterfalls, zoos as well as hundreds of statues.
Rooms within the palace were decorated with rare stones and mother of pearl.
After the death of Nero, Vespasian reopened the property to the public.
Emperor Nero was the fifth and final Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and inherited the throne and the title Caesar from his adoptive uncle Claudius.
The notorious emperor reigned from 54 to 68 AD, and his name was a byword for dissolution, cruelty and excess.
In 64AD two-thirds of Rome was destroyed in a great fire and Nero famously rebuilt the city after the fire in the Greek classical style, including his lavish Golden palace.
Described by Suetonius as one of Rome's most cruel, depraved and megalomaniac rulers, Nero often indulged in orgies. Fancying himself an artist, he entertained guests at his palace with his own performances of poetry and songs
However Nero did not enjoy the frescoed halls and gold-encrusted ceilings for too long. It was completed in AD 68 - the year he committed suicide after his legions and bodyguards rose against him and the senate declared him a public enemy.
Many Romans at the time believed the fire and ensuing destruction had been a ploy for the emperor to indulge his aesthetic tastes, despite his having been at his villa in Antium, 56km away, at the time.
He blamed the Christians, then a minority sect, for the fire, and persecuted them. Early Christian tradition holds Nero responsible for the deaths of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

After Nero's suicide, the palace was stripped of its marble, jewels and ivory, and within a decade the site was filled in and built over.
It was eventually rediscovered in the 15th century after a local fell through the ground and into the remains of the structure.
Within days people were letting themselves down on ropes so they could admire the frescoes that remained,  among them artists Raphael and Michelangelo who carved their names on the walls.
The restoration of Nero's palace has had a troubled history and has been opened and closed several times over the last few decades as restorers and structural engineers struggle to keep the vast complex from collapsing.

Follow link to see pictures of excavation.
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An open-minded view of the past allows for an unprejudiced glimpse into the future.

Logic rules.

"Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong."

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Jennifer O'Dell
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« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2009, 11:11:29 am »

Wow. The Romans had a lot more high tech than I thought they did.
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Qoais
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« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2009, 10:08:28 pm »

That's for sure.  I guess labor is no problem when you have a gigantic army standing around.  Can you imagine the work that went into building that thing?
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An open-minded view of the past allows for an unprejudiced glimpse into the future.

Logic rules.

"Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong."
Jennifer O'Dell
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Posts: 4546



« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2009, 11:54:27 am »

Slave labor. Like now, pretty much.
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