How did Rome rise to dominate so much of the ancient world? Off the coast of Sicily, investigators discover traces of a crucial naval battle. They haul a long-lost battleship relic to the surface using divers, an underwater robot, and a crane. In Terracina, south of Rome, archaeologists dig inside an ancient mountaintop temple. In Carthage, Tunisia, clues reveal how one deadly rivalry tilted the scales of power in favor of Rome.

Buried beneath Rome lies a forgotten treasure: the Golden House - a vast palace built in the first century AD. It was the most extravagant construction in the history of Rome. Why was it buried? And what can its fate reveal about its builder – Rome's most notorious emperor – Nero? As experts race to save the remains of the Golden House, archaeologists uncover new clues to its fate and its connection to Nero's reputation.