Archaeologists from the University of Perugia in collaboration with the Superintendent of Archaeological Heritage of Lazio have published the results of a recent excavation campaign in the volcanic crater of Lake Nemi, in the Alban hills near Rome. The purchase of a field adjoining the ruins of the Roman Temple of Diana on the part of the town of Nemi allowed a large additional area to be uncovered, including walls which dated back to prehistoric times, proving that the sanctuary existed on the spot well before the Roman era.
Among the many interesting finds uncovered were fragments of pottery inscribed with the name of the goddess Diana, black enamel ceramics, a number of votive statuettes and an ornamental roof element. The study and cataloguing of the pieces will begin next spring, after which it is hoped that they will find their natural place in the Roman Ship Museum on the lakeside.
Nemi lake made news earlier this year with the return of a gigantic statue of the Emperor Caligula found by tomb robbers in the crater and saved from being exported illegally abroad by Italian police.
Caligula was known to have a luxury villa at Nemi lake and this has also been confirmed during the archaeological campaign, which made use of the latest technology to inspect the site. A drone flying over the dig during the last two weeks of September revealed traces of other areas to be explored. The trial proved that there was once a magnificent nymphaem, complete with fountains, on a terrace above the main temple area, also believed to have been built by Caligula, who was a follower of Diana in her Egyptian form of Isis. Caligula is known to have built the two enormous cult ships that were sunk in the lake after his death and recovered in the 1930s, only to be destroyed during the last war.
