Remus and Romulus Cave Found?

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Italian archaeologists say they have discovered the long-lost cave where ancient Romans believe a wolf suckled the city's legendary founders Romulus and Remus after they were washed up as infants on the banks of the River Tiber.

The cave, believed to be the mythological 'Lupercal' was unearthed near the ruins of the first Roman emperor Augustus' palace on the Palatine Hill.

The eight-metre high cave decorated with shells, mosaics and coloured marble with a white eagle at the centre was found during restoration work on the palace. The cave was found 16 metres underground in a previously unexcavated area.

"It is a stunning discovery," said Italy's culture minister and former mayor of Rome, Francesco Rutelli. "It is born of our archaeologists' toil, patience and love," he added.

Fears that the cave might collapse meant that archaeologists had to use endoscopes and laser scanners to study it. A camera probe was later sent in, revealing images of the caves' decoration (photo).

Rutelli said archaeologists were "reasonably certain" that the newly unearthed cave could be the mythical Lupercal.

Ancient Romans believed the female wolf suckled Romulus and Remus in the cave, saving them from death after they had been placed in a trough and thrown into the River Tiber, in a form of quasi-infanticide tolerated in many ancient cultures.

Rutelli was speaking at a press conference to present the findings of the excavations of the Palatine, which has been been closed for decades due to risk of collapse. Part of the hill will re-open to the public in February after a 12 million euro restoration programme.

The cave's "magnificent decor and notable depth," and testimonies by Augustus that he had made it into a shrine through a series of refurbishments, provide almost total certainty that it is the 'Lupercal' said prominent Italian archaeologist Andrea Carandini.

"The Lupercal, the most ancient underground sanctuary in Rome represents one of the greatest discoveries ever made," Carandini added.

It was Augustus who began the Lupercal's decoration. In all probability, the cave was originally part of his palace, according to Carandini.