CAESAR'S SWORD

     This morning we took the ancient drawstring purse from the hidden drawer and X-rayed it - the leather is still to stiff to open it without damaging the purse.  The horse head effigy is actually part of a key - perhaps to the cabinet that is in the back of the chamber? Or to some long-lost door here in the Villa Jovis?  There are several other objects in there; one is definitely a coin; the others we can't make out clearly enough to be sure.
     Dr. Apriceno has collected pollen and dust samples from every surface inside the chamber, and spent the day slowly vacuuming out the stone dust so that we can finish inventorying and removing the artifacts from the chamber.  This is slow, intensive work that precludes anyone else from being inside, so Isabella and Dr. Rossini flew over to Naples to report to the Antiquities Bureau what we have found so far. The Bureau is also sending over some security guards so that we can go down and stay in Capri Village tonight instead of camping in tents up here.
     Dr. MacDonald and I had just placed the purse inside a rehydration tank that will make the leather supple enough to open it when Dr. Apriceno came over to the mobile lab, very excited about something she had just found.  The two of us followed her to the chamber to see what it was.
     She had said earlier that it looked like there might be something leaning against the wall next to the cabinet in the back of the chamber, but the dust was so thick there it was hard to be sure.  It had taken her several hours to vacuum her way back to that corner, but she had finally gotten to it and removed enough dust to make out what the object was.
     Only the top half had been uncovered, but Duncan and I took one look and let out an excited whoop!  There, resting against the back wall, was a completely intact Roman gladius.  The wooden and ivory pommel were still intact, and the sword was actually in its scabbard.  Attached just below the top of the scabbard was a tarnished silver plate with some Latin words inscribed on it.  We took multiple photos, then told Simone to continue removing the dust and dirt that encased the ancient blade, so that we could remove it to the lab as soon as possible.
     Back in the lab, I uploaded the pictures to our computer and magnified them on the large monitor so that I could decipher the inscription.  It read:

“Ferrum et honorem Iulii” 

     "The Blade and Honor of the Julii."  The Julii - the most famous family of ancient Rome.  We have uncovered the sword of a Caesar - the only question is, which one?  Tiberius, Augustus, or Gaius Julius Caesar himself?  This is an exciting development, and a major discovery!