Stunning frescoes revealed at Pompeii

Archaeologists working on the historical Roman metropolis of Pompeii have revealed superbly preserved frescoes within the Black Room, a banqueting corridor in a newly excavated a part of the location. It’s the newest gorgeous discover from Pompeii, which is nearly completely preserved beneath ash and pumice deposited by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.

The 2 frescoes, that are painted on the corridor’s partitions, present scenes from Greek mythology and literature. One presents Paris, the prince of Troy, assembly the attractive Spartan princess Helen—his subsequent kidnapping of her triggered the Trojan Conflict, as described in Homer’s Iliad.

The second fresco depicts the Trojan priestess Cassandra seated, whereas the god Apollo, one hand resting on a lyre, makes an attempt to seduce her. When she rejects the god, he dooms her to proclaim true prophecies that can by no means be believed.

As a banqueting corridor, the Black Room would have been used to entertain visitors at night time. Its partitions are painted black, in all probability in order that smoke stains, brought on by burning lamps, wouldn’t be seen.

“Within the shimmering mild, the work would have virtually come to life,” Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the archaeological park of Pompeii, instructed the BBC.

The banqueting corridor additionally encompasses a well-preserved mosaic ground, shaped from over 1,000,000 tiny white tiles, which contrasts starkly with the black partitions above.

The Black Room is only one half of a bigger home, discovered inside a residential and industrial block known as Area 9 by archaeologists, which has been underneath excavation for a 12 months.

The home had a reception room and backyard, whereas subsequent door there was a bakery, the place skeletons and a shrine have been uncovered, and beside that, a laundry. The skeletons—a baby and two adults—might have been slaves killed by falling stones through the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Archaeologists suspect that these three areas—the home, bakery and laundry—have been owned by the identical particular person. The presence of roof tiles, pots of lime mortar and trowels additionally suggests these areas have been being renovated collectively throughout Pompeii’s closing days.

Intriguingly, archaeologists have additionally discovered the initials ARV on partitions and millstones.

“We all know who ARV is: he’s Aulus Rustius Verus,” Sophie Hay, an archaeologist at Pompeii, instructed the BBC. “We all know him from different political propaganda in Pompeii. He’s a politician. He’s super-rich. We expect he could be the one who owns the luxury home behind the bakery and the laundry.”