>> ...claimed (based on a French language book I think) that the entire Roman Empire had been faked... <<
:-)
Yeah, apparently the Venetians decided to create the myth of the Roman Empire to justify their, uh, Venetian empire. Because, y’know, they figured no one would notice. So, all the literary survivals are actually not merely medieval/dark ages copies of ancient works, they are later medieval forgeries. And Hadrian’s Wall? The wall system across the Levant and across Germany? The aqueducts? The roads? The coliseum? All medieval fakes.