14 DAY TRIAL // In the first century AD, the Roman empire was led by Emperor Nero, also known as Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (15 December 37 – 9 June 68). He was the fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and also one of the most brutal and extravagant rulers the empire ever had. He committed suicide by driving a dagger through his throat, after the Senate had declared him a public enemy. Upon his death, most statues of him were destroyed. Now, experts at the Bournemouth University and the Fishbourne Roman Palace are planning to use 21st century technology to determine if an incomplete statue they have is indeed Nero's, as speculated.
The statue head is one of a youngster, previous studies determined, and the scientists are currently trying to determine if it's a depiction of emperor Nero as a child. They plan to run 3D laser scans on the artifact, in an attempt to recreate the damaged parts of the sculpture. This will hopefully reveal the identity of the mysterious object, which has had archaeologists scratching their heads since it was first discovered, AlphaGalileo reports. In Great Britain, this is the sole possible depiction of Nero that survived. Only three such artifacts exist in the entire world.
“This is very exciting as the scan will allow us to see for the first time what the boy really looked like and may also reveal his identity. We have always assumed he was related to the royal family who lived here at Fishbourne, but it may be that it is even more special and is a rare depiction of Nero,” explains the Curator of Archaeology at the Palace site in southern England, Dr. Rob Symmons. He is one of the leaders for the new research, alongside Bournemouth University senior lecturer Dr. Miles Russell.
Dr. Russell, who is also an expert in Roman archeology, came up with the idea for the new study after a previous research led him to discover that a similar Roman stone head, currently in the Chichester District Museum, bore an uncanny resemblance to the ill-fated emperor. “The Chichester head, though damaged, appeared to have been a depiction of Nero as an older man, a rare survival, as most portraits of the man were destroyed after his suicide following his declaration as an enemy of the State. I wondered whether the famous 'head of a youth' in Fishbourne Palace museum might also be of the disgraced emperor,” the expert says.