All’s well that ends well

End of 2017, I wrote a post about Caligula’s megalomania (see: A sample of Caligula’s megalomania) and the pleasure vessels he built for his own entertainment at Lake Nemi, some 30 kilometers south of Rome. 

Caligula’s pleasure vessels were short-lived as he was assassinated about a year after they were launched. After being stripped of their precious content, they were intentionally sunk. Over the past 2,000 years, fishermen and treasure hunters regularly retrieved small treasures from the wrecks. Among those finds was a square piece of inlaid marble which features a geometric pattern using green and purple porphyry, serpentine, and molded glass. It was acquired by a private party in the early 1970s and was turned it into a small coffee table. 

Apparently, the owners were not aware of the mosaic’s origin until an unexpected encounter in 2013 revealed the true origin of the marble piece. 

Today, it has been announced that the looted treasure has been returned to Italy where it has found a place in the Museum of Roman Ships on the shores of Lake Nemi.