Death Site of Rome's First Emperor 'Augustus' Presumably Found by Japanese Researchers in Southern Italy

The death site of the first emperor of Rome may have been found by archaeologists in southern Italy.

Augustus' Death Site

Researchers from the University of Tokyo conducted excavations at Mount Vesuvius' northern part. Doing so helped them uncover a portion of a building that could have been used by Augustus, who is considered the founder of the Roman Empire and the first emperor of Rome who ruled from 27 B.C. up until A.D. 14 when he died at 75 years of age.

According to historical sources, Augustus passed away at a villa situated at Vesuvius' north side. This building also served as a memorial site consecrated for his honor. However, the villa's exact location has not been identified conclusively.

Back in the 1930s, researchers were able to find some building remains of a Roman villa that was initially thought to be that of the first Roman emperor. The villa was located in Somma Vesuviana, which is a town at Vesuvius northern foot. Mount Vesuvius is known for its powerful eruption that took place in A.D. 79.

However, an excavation project that started in 2002 at the site and that was conducted by the University of Tokyo determined that the building dates to no further back than the second century A.D. This means that it dates back to after the infamous Vesuvius eruption, not before it.

Recent excavations done by Japanese researchers in 2023 was able to uncover more evidence of a building that dates back to an earlier period. The evidence was found below the structure from the second century. This was the earlier building thought by Tokyo researchers to be Augustus' death site.

Based on volcanic pumice analysis and radiocarbon dating work, the structure still functioned during the first half of the first century A.D. It also ended up getting the volcanic eruption from the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The discovery of the building portions marks the first time that building evidence chronologically matches Augustus' villa at Vesuvius' north side.

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Building Evidence

The archaeologists were able to identify a structure that is kiln-like and that was likely linked to a bathhouse of some sort within the building ruins. The dating of the structure's charcoal also shows that the building remained occupied during the first century's first half. However, the kiln stopped being used at some point after Emperor Augustus died. This aligns with the historical literature description pertaining to how the emperor's villa stopped being used after he died.

Though the most recent findings offer grave clues, further research is necessary for the emperor's villa locations to be determined conclusively.

Nevertheless, such findings challenge what is conventionally known pertaining to how Vesuvius' northern foothills only suffered from minor damage from the eruption and faced less severe impacts compared to the southeastern settlements like Pompeii.