The remains of a 2,000-year-old garden that was likely owned by the emperor Caligula were recently discovered in the square called Piazza Pia in Rome. Construction workers unearthed the foundations of a colonnaded portico, a portion of a wall overlooking the Tiber River, and a lead pipe stamped with the inscription “C(ai) Cæsaris Aug (usti) Germanici.” Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as Caligula, was the emperor of Rome from AD 37 until AD 41, when he was assassinated by a group of conspirators that included the tribune of the Praetorian Guard. According to a statement from Italy’s Ministry of Culture (see link below), “The discovery of a lead water pipe (fistula plumbea), stamped with the name of the owner of the water supply, and therefore of the garden, allows us to identify the person responsible for the first renovation of the complex.” The pipe is similar to one discovered in the same general area in the early 1900s that was inscribed with the name of Iulia (Julia) Augusta, one of Augustus’ wives and the grandmother of Germanicus. Archaeologists believe the property was inherited by Germanicus before passing to his wife, and then his son, Caligula. The site seems to match the description in a passage of Philo (Embassy to Gaius) in which he describes Caligula receiving a delegation of Alexandrian Jews in the Gardens of Agrippina, overlooking the Tiber River, and separating the river from a monumental portico. While Caligula is never mentioned by name in the Bible, he succeeded Tiberius (mentioned in Lk 3:1) and ruled during the rise of the early church, contemporary with some of the early events in the book of Acts.
OFF-SITE LINKS:
- https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/roman-emperor-caligulas-2000-year-old-garden-unearthed-near-the-vatican
- https://cultura.gov.it/comunicato/26552
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