An ancient Roman tomb went on show to the public again for the first time in 30 years on Monday as part of restoration work at the Museo Nazionale Romano at Diocletian's Baths in Rome.
The 18 BC tomb of Sulpicius Platorinus, one of three coin minters in the city, was discovered on the right bank of the River Tiber in 1880 and contained exquisitely decorated cinerary urns, the bust of a young woman, and two statues of Platorinus and his daughter.
The funerary objects have now been reunited with the reconstruction of Platorinus' 7.5 metre x 7 metre tomb in the museum's newly renovated spacious Hall X.
''These large halls, as well as being a museum in themselves, are destined to accommodate great Roman public and funerary architecture,'' said Rome's archaeology superintendant Angelo Bottini.
Bottini added that the tomb of one of Emperor Marcus Aurelius' favourites that was discovered last month will also soon go on show in the hall.
Archaeologists recovered parts of the tomb of Marcus Nonius Macrinus, a proconsul for Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD), in October, although some of it is thought to have fallen into the Tiber.
Macrinus was at first erroneously identified as the man who inspired the writers of the Ridley Scott Oscar-winning epic, Gladiator.
Bottini said structural restoration work will continue at Diocletian's Baths, which were built in 306 AD as Rome's grandest public baths and which now house the museum.
