Curator of archaeology Dr Rob Symmons, working with Bournemouth University lecturers Dr Miles Russell and Harry Manley, ran scans on the head at the palace, near Chichester, West Sussex, to recreate the damaged parts of the face. The initial image is available immediately, although a detailed version could take up to two weeks to complete.

Dr Symmons said: “First impressions indicate that this is a portrait of Nero as a boy, which is very exciting as it is only one of three of its kind in the world. Previously, we have always assumed the boy was related to the royal family who lived here.”

Dr Miles Russell added: “The scan has given us a more complete picture of the missing parts of the face which confirms our theory that this is a depiction of Nero. This is exciting as it indicates that there may have been links between the Chichester area and one of the most famous Roman emperors of all time.”

Fishbourne Roman Palace director Christine Medlock said: “This is fantasic news, not only for the team here at Fishbourne and at Bournemouth University, but also for the original team who worked on the excavation of the palace in the sixties. It also leads us to ask many more questions about whether Nero had personal links with Fishbourne.”

The marble head was found during 1964 during the excavation of the Salthill Road palace and if it is Nero, will have international significance, as most portraits of the disgraced leader as a young man were destroyed after his suicide in AD 68.

Two of the best-known examples of the teenage Nero are preserved in the Museo Nazionale d’Antichita in Parma and the Musee du Louvre in Paris. Both representations are thought to have been created as part of the official recognition  that Nero was on his way to becoming chief heir of Claudius.

The Fishbourne head with its rounded cheeks and full, curving lips of the piece almost exactly match the features of the young Nero on display in Parma and Paris, as do the rounded lower face, slightly protruding ears, curling locks of hair and almond-shaped eyes.

It has been forcibly removed from the body whilst substantial and violent blows have fragmented the image, further damage being inflicted upon the nose and chin. This seems to follow very closely the process of damnatio memoriae, a post mortem mutilation inflicted upon Nero and everything he was associated with, following his death in AD 68.

The damage caused to the Fishbourne portrait would be totally in line with such an empire-wide practice. Furthermore, the dumping of the smashed fragments of sculpture into the foundations of the main palace, which swept away all trace of the Nero-inspired earlier phase, would probably have been seen as an entirely appropriate fate for the disgraced emperor.