Archaeologists have excavated a hall, where Emperors and dignitaries used to party, in Posillipo, Italy, according to the Oriental University of Naples.
The discovery was made as researchers stumbled upon it while investigating Roman baths that were used to store weapons in World War II.
The hall
The hall, which would have been used around 2000 years ago, was the summer home of Vedus Pollio who was a friend of Emperor Augustus.
While stratigraphic data is missing, excavation leader Marco Giglio said that “based on the style, the hall could date back to the late Republican age or Augustan at the latest.”
The hall was once decorated with a black and white mosaic carpet and overlooked a 2,000-seat Greek-style theatre. The theatre was once used for musical performances and was known as an ‘Odeon.’
Vedius Pollio
Pollio was a Roman politician and Knight, who lived around the 1st century BCE. When Pollio died, he left the property to Augustus.
According to an earlier report by The Jerusalem Post, Pollio was known for his cruelty to his slaves; he even allegedly fed them to lampreys when they angered him. In one account, Augustus was eating at Pollio's home when a cupbearer broke a glass. Pollio was about to have the slave fed to the lampreys, but Augustus intervened, ordering all of Pollio’s glasses destroyed and the pool in which the lampreys lived filled in.