The "secret" journeys of Emperor Hadrian have been discovered on a white marble slab in an ancient Roman city.
The white marble, found in the Ostia Antica archeological park, southwest of Rome, details the dates of the ancient Roman emperor's journeys between Greece and Africa, Il Messaggero reported.
Hadrian, who ruled from 117 to 138, is best known for creating Hadrian's Wall, and being one of the "Five Good Emperors," who ruled during a period of prosperity for the Roman Empire.
The engravings in the white marble are from 128 A.D. and describe Hadrian's movements in detail. The fragments—found in the Forum of Porta Marina area of the archeological site, which lies just outside the ancient city gate—are from the Fasti Ostienses. This was a calendar of Roman magistrates and several significant events that took place between 49 B.C. and 175 A.D.
For this reason, the engravings hold valuable clues into this time.
Director of Ostia Antica, Alessandro D'Alessio, told Newsweek that the engravings are "extraordinary."
"From a purely scientific point of view, the discovery of this epigraphic fragment is extraordinary, as it gives us in a few lines, or rather parts of a few lines, such a quantity of information and details about Hadrian's reign and activity that we did not have before."
D'Alessio said that from this finding, it is known that in 128 A.D., the emperor assumed the honorary title of pater patriae, which translates as "father of the people." To celebrate this, the engravings show that he gave money to his subjects, the news outlet reported.
It is also noted that the emperor left for Africa on April 10 the same year. He returned to Rome in July before leaving for Athens, Greece, in August.
It is thought that between these journeys, the emperor consecrated a temple, although it is not clear which one.
"Before leaving for Athens, Hadrian consecrated something, evidently a temple, in Rome," D'Alessio said. "The discourse to be made here would be very long and complex. I will limit myself to saying that there are basically two possibilities: the Pantheon or, more likely in our opinion—I am studying the inscription with my colleague Dr. Filippo Marini Recchia—and at the present stage of our research, a temple that did not already exist."
These most recent findings were made as part of the research project, Ostia Post Scriptum. The finding was made back in September 2022, when excavations began.
The primary focus of the project was to excavate a sector of the city that has never been investigated before.
Update 6/29/23, 3:17 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include direct quotes from Alessandro D'Alessio.
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