Light on the water: ritual deposit of lamps in Lake Nemi

Abstract

Lake Nemi, in a crater of volcanic origins, lies along the via Appia c.30 km south of Rome in the region of the Alban Hills. The basin as a whole has a high density of archeological evidence, most noticeably the sanctuary of Diana on the NE and the imperial villa on the SW sides. Famously, two large ships belonging to Caligula were long preserved in the lake bed. Following repeated attempts beginning in Renaissance times, in 1927 the recovery of the two ships became a matter of national prestige and propaganda for the Fascist government. The decision was taken to lower the level of the lake by c.22 m to the lake floor where the hulls lay, using powerful pumps that sucked and directed the water through the ancient emissary that was re-opened (figs. 2-3). These operations, conducted between 1928 and 1932, concluded in 1936 with the grand opening on the NW shore of the Museo Nazionale delle Navi Romane, where the ships were displayed. But the tragic epilogue came just a few years later in 1944 during the Second World War when the ships, symbols of a régime that was as boastful as it was fragile, were completely destroyed.