Nearly stolen Caligula statue unveiledThieves led police to archaeological site
(ANSA) - Rome, July 12 - Officials revealed a monumental statue believed to be of Roman Emperor Caligula Tuesday, announcing that an illegal dig pointed them to the major archaeological find.
Police stumbled upon the site near Lake Nemi, just south of Rome, after monitoring the area for suspicious activity, finding a truck "hidden by rubble and intended for a foreign destination, probably Switzerland," said Massimo Rossi, head of the Archeological Heritage Protection Group.
The seizure, which led to the arrest of two antiquities thieves, had the fortuitous effect of leading authorities to the previously unknown site where Caligula is believed to have had an imperial residence.
The marble statue, which was broken into pieces, shows parts of a robed man sitting on an ornate throne with detailed pillow fringes, a Nike vase, a flower girl, rich drapery, a globe and a scepter.
"It's the only one (work) that represents Caligula as Zeus," said Maria Sapelli Ragni of the protection group.
The figure in the 2,000-year-old statue wears a "caliga," the travelling sandals of Roman legionaires and the trademark fashion statement of Caligula, from which his nickname was derived.
His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.
Caligula, who ruled from the years 37 to 41, has gone down in history as a sex-crazed, power-hungry tyrant who publicly called himself a god, a fact which lends credibility to the claim that the Zeus statue is in his likeness.
Archeologists have identified 250 artifacts at the site, of which 100 are fragments of the massive statue.
Once restored, the statue will be housed in the Museum of Roman Ships in Nemi.
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