Italian archaeologists discover Sphinx hall in Nero's Domus Aurea

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ROME, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Italian archaeologists have discovered a richly decorated hall in the ancient Roman Emperor Nero's Domus Aurea (Golden House), which once stretched across several hills of Rome, cultural heritage officials announced here Wednesday.

The chance discovery, which was announced today but was made in late 2018, occurred thanks to a scaffolding that had been built to restore one of the Domus Aurea's 150 halls. When restorers climbed to the top of the scaffolding, they lit upon an opening that led to another space whose existence had been unknown, said officials from the Colosseum Archaeological Park, which manages the Colosseum and the Imperial Forums that surround it.

"The discovery of this hall falls within the strategy of scientific investigation, which (we) pursue every day along with that of preservation and restoration," Colosseum Archaeological Park Director Alfonsina Russo said in a statement.

"The Hall of the Sphinx, as we have named it, after remaining in darkness for almost 20 centuries, transmits to us the atmosphere of the years of Nero's reign," she said.

The hall's white walls are divided into pictorial sectors, framed by lines painted in red and yellow ochre, with golden bands punctuated by a series of plant-like elements.

Inside each sector, a series of delicate and dynamic figures are elegantly painted in dense red pigment: a goddess rising from a plant, armed with a sword and a shield; a rampant panther; centaurs (mythological creatures with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse); and figures of Pan, the ancient god of shepherds and flocks.

Images of frolicking sea creatures intertwined with vegetable motifs, birds, and garlands in green, yellow and red follow each other all around the perimeter of the composition.

At one end of the hall is a painting of an imaginary structure, with columns surmounted by a gold ceremonial platter and a garland hanging from it. Next to it is an image of a sphinx, or a winged mythological creature with the head of a woman and the body of a lion.

The emperor Nero had the Domus Aurea built after his previous palace, an 800-square-meter dwelling named the Domus Transitoria (Transitory House), burned down in the great fire of Rome in 64 AD.

In April, the Domus Transitoria, which featured inlaid marbles in a range of colors and a profusion of frescoes across its walls and vaulted ceilings, was opened to the public after 10 years of restoration work. Enditem

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