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Divers to scour lake for Emperor Caligula’s 2,000-year-old pleasure shipToday, the serene waters of Lake Nemi make it a quaint getaway, one that is best known for its peaceful landscapes and the area's delicious wild strawberries.But in ancient Roman times, the volcanic lake southeast of Rome was the anchor point for Emperor Caligula's pleasure ships — massive and ornate barges that were rumored to be the sites of wild orgies and other excessive indulgences.For nearly 2,000 years, the sunken remains of Caligula's pleasure ships tantalized divers, who launched expeditions to recover them, with little success.It wasn't until 1927, when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered Lake Nemi drained, that two of the ships began to be fully revealed. Measuring 230 and 240 feet long, the “Nemi ships” recovered over the next several years astounded researchers with their advanced technology.At the time, however, Lake Nemi was only partly drained — and in the decades since, rumors have persisted that the remains of a third, 400-foot-long pleasure ship lurk in the deepest part of the lake.Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/04/divers-to-scour-lake-for-emperor-caligulas-2000-year-old-pleasure-ship/?utm_term=.641042d2ac58
He tormented high-ranking senators by making them run for miles in front of his chariot. He had brazen affairs with the wives of his allies and was rumored to have incestuous relationships with his sisters.Caligula was tall, pale and so hairy that he made it a capital offense to mention a goat in his presence. He worked to accentuate his natural ugliness by practicing terrifying facial expressions in a mirror.
