A marble head has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Nemi, a small volcanic lake south of Rome where two palatial ships built by the Roman Emperor Caligula, who lived in the 1st century AD, were moored.

This connection has fueled speculation that the head is part of the remains from one of the vast ornate vessels that eventually sank in the lake.  

The piece of sculpture was discovered during routine dredging work to clean the lake bed and has been handed over to experts for analysis, according to Italian news reports.

Archaologists and scholars have expressed excitement about the discovery, highlighting the historical significance it could have.

The so-called Nemi ships that may have been the source of the marble head were built by Caligula in the 1st century AD. 

The exact purpose of the ships remains a point of scholarly debate, but it was discovered that the vessels featured "modern-like" technology thought to have been invented much later.

The larger of the two ships is believed to have been essentially a floating palace. A contemporary account by the Roman historian Suetonius describes lavishly decorated vessels with marble floors, fountains and even plumbing, heating and baths.

However, because Lake Nemi was considered sacred, some experts have also theorized that at least one of the ships might have had a religious or ceremonial function.

The ships sank at some point after Caligula's reign, and sat 18 meters below the surface of the lake for centuries.

After several salvage attempts only resulted in damaging the wood of the vast hulls, they were finally raised in 1932 after the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the lake to be drained.

The Roman ships were put on display in a special museum on Lake Nemi, but were destroyed by fire after a World War II bombing raid.