Washington Post this morning carried this article detailing new artifacts found in the ruins of Nero's "Golden House". Built in Rome after the great fire in 64 AD, it was actually a gigantic complex of buildings and gardens centered in the heart of the city. While well attested and described in the various ancient books we have from the period, generations immediately after Nero essentially erased the place from the city's map. Still, in their haste to destroy all traces of the last Julio-Claudian, they ended up preserving more than they demolished, and we moderns seem to be the beneficiaries.

The site is enormous, and could take a century to excavate. Still, it provides a very interesting look at one of the most puzzling emperors in history.