Vibia Sabina, who was forced into marriage with the homosexual Hadrian at the age of 14. Remains of the statue depicting Faustina the Elder were found further along, on the eastern side. In the opposite niche, they found the front parts of a pair of male feet in sandals, which could belong to her husband, Antoninus Pius - who succeeded Hadrian as emperor. The experts suggest Antonine emperors occupied niches on the western side of the room, while their spouses stood opposite, on the east side. Five good emperors After the discovery of Faustina and her male counterpart, the archaeologists guessed the north-western niche would contain a colossal statue of Marcus Aurelius - the longest-surviving successor of Antoninus Pius. The discovery on Wednesday confirmed this prediction, and suggeststhe north-eastern niche may contain remains of a statue depicting Faustina the Younger, Marcus Aurelius's wife. Archaeologists will get the opportunity to excavate this part of the room next year. The statue of Marcus Aurelius stood in the north-western niche Despite his philosophical leanings, Marcus Aurelius had to spend much of his reign fighting Germanic tribes along the Austrian Danube where, in 180AD, he died in nearby Carnuntum. The part of Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator was one of Richard Harris's last roles (the actor died in 2002). Although much of the storyline is fictional, it is set against an historical backdrop of the imperial succession from Marcus Aurelius to his son Commodus. While Marcus Aurelius is considered, along with Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, as one of