clipped from: www.guardian.co.uk 
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1968: Archaeologist Claudio Moccheggioni examines pieces of painted plaster found in the three-room palace on Palatine Hill, in Rome. After it was discovered, experts identified the site as the house of the emperor Augustus
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Objects painted over brightly coloured backgrounds
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A visitor looks at vivid red frescoes
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Decoration in the fashion of the period
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The palace is situated above a grotto where Romans may have worshipped Romulus
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Decorative birds
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Mythical creatures are seen on some pieces of fresco
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The magnificent view over Rome from the palace
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A detail of one of the frescoes
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Visitors photograph one of the rooms
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Geometric patterns on a frescoed ceiling
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The fragile pieces of fresco show the painstaking restoration work
Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images