A blue painted shrine is the latest discovery in Pompeii ‘treasure chest’
The blue room was found during excavations in central Pompeii.
Archaeologists have unearthed an intricately decorated blue room, interpreted as an ancient Roman shrine known as a sacrarium, during recent excavations in central Pompeii in Italy.
The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, visited the site on Tuesday, describing the ancient city as “a treasure chest that is still partly unexplored.”
The blue color found in this new discovery is rare, with the culture ministry outlining that it is generally associated with environments of great decorative importance.
An in-depth analysis of the room, according to the ministry, found that the space could be interpreted as a sacrarium or a space dedicated to ritual activities and the conservation of sacred objects.
The walls of the room feature female figures.
The walls of the room feature female figures that are said to depict the four seasons of the year, as well as allegories of agriculture and shepherding.
The new discovery came amid excavations in the Regio IX area of central Pompeii, a residential area that is currently one of the most active excavation sites for new findings.
The excavations are part of a broader project to secure a perimeter between the excavated and non-excavated areas of the archaeological park, which currently has more than 13,000 excavated rooms.
The project aims to improve the structure of the area, making the “protection of the vast Pompeiian heritage… more effective and sustainable,” the culture ministry said.
Other recent findings in the area include furnishings belonging to a house, a bronze kit with two jugs and two lamps, building materials used in renovations, and the shells of oysters that had been consumed.
The intricately decorated room was found in the Regio IX section of the popular tourist site.
Last week, it was reported that archaeologists in Pompeii had uncovered children’s sketches depicting violent scenes of gladiators and hunters battling animals.
The drawings, thought to be made by children between the ages of five and seven sometime before Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, were found on the walls of a back room in the residential sector of the archaeological park.
They showed that even children in ancient times were exposed to extreme violence.
Iron Age necropolis that predates Rome unearthed near Naples
The archaeological team has unearthed 88 “pit tombs” at the site. There are also two large burial mounds that they think cover tombs of the elites of the ancient society.
An ancient necropolis discovered near Naples, Italy was used to bury the dead about 2,800 years ago, around the time the city of Rome was founded about 100 miles (161 kilometers) to the northwest.
The discovery gives researchers a rare insight into the Iron Age cultures that existed before the Roman domination of the region. The astonishing finds near the town of Amorosi, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Naples, include 88 burials in “pit tombs” of both men and women.
The men were typically buried with weapons, whereas the women were often buried with bronze ornaments, including bracelets, pendants, brooches — called “fibulae,” and pieces of amber and worked bone, according to a translated statement from the Italian Ministry of Culture.
The archaeologists who excavated the site have also unearthed large numbers of pottery vases of different shapes, which were usually placed in the tombs at the feet of the deceased. They think the burial ground predates the Samnites, the people who lived in the region a few hundred years later and were frequent enemies of the early Romans.
Archaeologists think the ancient burial ground, or necropolis, near the town of Amorosi, Italy is around 2,800 years old.
Early Italy
According to legend, the mythical hero Romulus founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C. amid a dispute with his twin brother Remus; but archaeologists think Rome developed from a union of several hilltop villages after about the tenth century B.C., during the Iron Age.
The early Roman state fought many wars against its neighbors, including Etruscan city-states and other Latin-speaking peoples; and in the fourth century B.C., the Romans fought a series of wars against the Samnites, who mainly lived southeast of Rome in the mountainous Apennine region.
Rome was ultimately victorious, however, and the Samnites were assimilated into Roman society after the Third Samnite War, from 298 until 290 B.C., after which Rome went on to conquer the whole of Italy and to start colonies further afield.
The ancient necropolis near Amorosi seems to have been established in the Samnite region, but hundreds of years before the Samnites arrived there, possibly from central Italy.
Archaeologists think the people who founded the necropolis belonged to what’s been called the “Pit Tomb” culture that existed throughout much of central and southern Italy during the Iron Age.
The ancient necropolis was found during archaeological excavations that were conducted before a power station is built at the site.
Ancient necropolis
The burial ground near Amorosi was discovered by archaeologists investigating the area before a new power plant is built there. The power plant is intended to supply electricity to a high-speed upgrade of the railway between Naples and the city of Bari, on Italy’s Adriatic coast.
As well as the pit tombs, the necropolis features two large burial mounds — about 50 feet (15 meters) across — that the archaeologists think cover the tombs of elite members of the ancient society.
A statement from Italy’s Ministry of Culture said the tombs of men in the necropolis often included weapons, while the tombs of women often included ornaments, such as these bronze bracelets.
The mounds are now the only visible features of the necropolis, and have been known about for millennia, but the latest excavations have only now revealed the many tombs around them, according to news reports.
The tombs, artifacts and human remains they contain will now be studied in a laboratory that’s been set up at the site, the statement said.
Ancient Roman city of Pompeii, archaeologists have unearthed a fresco depicting the Greek mythological siblings Phrixus and Helle
Archaeologists excavating a house adjacent to the House of Leda in Insula 6, Regio V, in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have unearthed a fresco depicting the Greek mythological siblings Phrixus and Helle (also known as Ellie).
Still astonishingly colorful some 2,000 years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped out the city, the frescoes were unearthed during restoration work around the mansion of the House of Leda.
The director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, described the discovery as a poignant reflection of history unfolding.
The unearthed fresco depicts two refugees at sea from ancient Greece, Phrixus and Elle, brother and sister who flee their home after being driven out by their stepmother, who has bribed Delphi’s oracle to have the children killed in order to end the famine that has befallen their homeland.
The two siblings are rescued by Hera, and they escape on the Golden Fleece ram. Elle slips from the ram and drowns in the strait between Europe and Asia (named after her, or the Hellespont). In the fresco, she is seen disappearing into the waves, while her brother Frisso survives.
The fresco depicting the Greek mythological siblings Phrixus and Helle.
It is “a fresco in an excellent state of preservation,” as Archaeological Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel put it, depicting “a myth typical of ancient Greece, but also of Pompeii, where Greek myth is very much present in all homes and is also an example of how myth, storytelling through images, wall decoration becomes part of a lived environment like this small house, not very large, but richly decorated, which tries through the paintings to emulate, to imitate the tone of life of the elites.”
The fresco is painted as if it were a framed picture, hung on a yellow wall. Others depicting still life images and several portraits of women have also been newly revealed.
Zuchtriegel also expressed hope for making these meticulously preserved homes available to the public shortly, emphasizing the cultural and historical significance of this latest discovery.
Unexpected discoveries in recent months include thirteen Nativity-style statuettes that revealed evidence of pagan ritual customs in the ancient Roman city and, in June of last year, a remarkable still-life fresco that resembled a pizza and contained an object that appeared to be a pineapple.
A ‘very rare’ clay figurine of the god Mercury and a previously unknown Roman settlement were discovered at the excavation site in Kent
At a previously unknown Roman settlement that was formerly next to a busy port but is now 10 miles from the sea, a very rare clay figurine of the god Mercury—one of less than 10 found in Britain—was found.
The settlement, located in the modern hamlet of Smallhythe (or Small Hythe), near Tenterden in Kent, is surrounded by fields but was once an important link in the Roman Empire’s import and infrastructure network in southern England and the Channel.
Smallhythe Place has been one of the most significant shipyards in medieval England. It cared for since 1947 by the National Trust.
While excavating the National Trust plot, archaeologists came across earlier evidence of a Roman settlement, in use between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
The discovery that it had previously also been the site of a Roman settlement, along with the artifacts found there, was “massively exciting”, according to Nathalie Cohen, a National Trust archaeologist.
The settlement was small in scale and modest in prestige, said Cohen. “It’s not Roman Londinium, it’s not Cirencester. It’s a smallish settlement by a port.” That said, “it would have been vital in the logistics chain for exporting timber and iron out of [south-east England] and importing materials from the continent”.
The waterside site’s significance is further highlighted by another find from the area: a tile bearing the stamp of the Classis Britannica, the Roman fleet in Britain.
Part of a Roman tile stamped with Classis Britannica, the mark of the Roman fleet.
Among the finds was the head of a figurine of the god Mercury made from pipeclay. While Mercury is the most common god for metal figurines, pipeclay examples are extremely rare.
Roman figurines in pipeclay were mainly used for private religious practice and placed in the graves of children.
Pipeclay figurines were made of clays local to central Gaul (modern-day France) and the Rhine-Moselle region and were imported, however, most pipeclay figurines found in Britain are of female deities, the majority being of Venus.
The 5cm-tall (2in) head of Mercury was discovered with no body. This complete figurine probably would have depicted Mercury standing, either draped with a chlamys (a short cloak), or naked, holding a caduceus (a staff with two intertwined snakes).
Mercury was the god of all the fine arts as well as commerce and financial success. Religion was an important part of daily life in most Roman provinces, and statues and portable figurines of gods, such as the one discovered at Smallhythe, were worshipped by both the Roman elite and ordinary citizens in their homes. Therefore, rather than appearing in a grand temple, experts believe that the statue is likely to have a more modest use.
“Intriguingly, it appears to have been deliberately broken, perhaps indicating a ritual significance,” said Matthew Fittock, an expert on ceramic figurines in Roman Britain. “Rather than pieces being discarded because they were broken, there is evidence to suggest that deliberately breaking some figurine heads was an important ritual practice, whereas whole figurines are usually found in graves.”
The Mercury head, along with other finds from the excavation, will go on show from 28 February at Smallhythe Place.
A Large Copper Age Necropolis Discovered in Italian Town
In the town of San Giorgio Bigarello, near the northern Italia city of Mantua, a large Copper Age necropolis dating back to about 5000 years ago has been discovered.
The discovery of the large necropolis has proved to be a surprise both in terms of the quantity of excavated tombs, a total of 22, and the archaeological data that promise to be very valuable for researchers.
The unexpected number of graves and the exquisitely crafted weapons discovered in some of them are likely to provide new insights into the prehistoric inhabitants of this region of northern Italy.
Excavated in November 2023 and January-February 2024, the first isolated tombs were, in fact, only a small portion of a larger cemetery, the precise dimensions of which have undoubtedly been lost over the ages.
A variety of flint weapons were found in many tombs, including expertly crafted daggers, flawless arrowheads, and other blades.
Flint dagger from the archaeological excavations of the Copper Age necropolis in San Giorgio Bigarello, Northern Italy.
Aside from that, SAP archaeologists, working under the scientific guidance of Simone Sestito, the archaeological officer of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Mantova, and with the enthusiastic support of the town’s municipal administration, also discovered jewelry, such as necklace beads, made of materials that raise some preliminary questions regarding chronology and are most likely from the 4th millennium BCE.
The majority of the burials discovered at Bigarello are simple individual inhumations, with the deceased lying on their left sides, legs bent to their chests, and heads oriented northwest.
Since excavations began again in January, 19 more graves have been discovered, supporting the archaeologists’ theories that this was a cemetery rather than a few haphazard burials.
The 22 burials were discovered only 40 or so centimeters below the surface.
The region that is now Mantua was a part of the River Mincio basin during the Neolithic (c. 6000–4,000 B.C.) and Chalcolithic (c. 4000-1700 B.C.) periods.
The famous Neolithic double-burial, the Lovers of Valdaro, was discovered in San Giorgio Bigarello. It is certainly not new to archaeological finds of considerable value.
A 2,500-year-old celestial map carved on the surface of a circular stone found in Italy
Two circular stones measuring 50 centimeters in diameter have been discovered in Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo, an ancient hilltop fortress in the Italian province of Trieste, and one of them may be one of the oldest celestial maps found in Italy.
The discovery was announced in a press release by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).
Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo is a defensive structure. Used as a fortification from an era between 1800 and 1650 BC. until 400 BC, that of Rupinpiccolo is one of the most important castles, as well as the first brought to light.
Among the many castles in the Karst area, that of Rupinpiccolo is one of the best preserved. It stands immediately outside the town, on a limestone hill, the top of which is enclosed by a wall 3-4 meters thick, but which in some places reaches up to 7 meters. The height has been preserved for a maximum of 3 meters, but originally it must have reached 7-8 meters.
Two large circular stones – two thick discs about 50 cm in diameter and 30 cm deep – were found near the entrance to the Castelliere and attracted the attention of archaeologists.
Aerial view of Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo.
One of the stones, according to Paolo Molaro of INAF and researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and ICTP, is a representation of the sun, while the other is a carved celestial map dating from the 4th century BC.
The German astronomy journal Astronomische Nachrichten published a study about the stones, in which the study’s authors said the celestial map shows the sky above Rupinpiccolo some 2,500 years ago, making the discovery the oldest known One of the celestial maps laid out in Italy.
“I was contacted by Federico Bernardini, whom I didn’t know, telling me that he needed an astronomer”, Molaro said to Media Inaf, “because he seemed to have identified the constellation of Scorpio in a stone from the Carso.
My first reaction was incredulity, given that the southern part of Scorpio is just above the horizon in our latitudes. But then, discovering that the precession of the equinoxes raised it by about 10-12 degrees and the impressive coincidence with the constellation, I began to delve deeper into the question… So I identified Orion, the Pleiades, and, in the back, Cassiopeia. All points present except one.”
29 engravings on the stone have been identified by the team, and they perfectly match the constellations of Cassiopeia, Orion, Scorpius, and the Pleiades. The researchers hypothesize that the carvings were probably created by the same person using a hammer and a crude metal chisel with a 6-7 mm tip based on the angle of the cut marks in the stone.
The researchers also used the program Stellarium to simulate the night sky because a star called Theta Scorpii was so low on the horizon in the 1800s BCE that it cannot be seen today.
But let’s get to the 29 signs. All but one are superimposable on the stars of Scorpius, Orion, the Pleiades and probably – also considering the 5 signs on the back of the stone – Cassiopeia. And it is an overlap with very high statistical significance, the authors specify: the p-value is much lower than 0.001. In other words, it is highly unlikely that the arrangement of those signs was purely the result of chance. Not only that: the deviations from the true positions are of the order of the size of the signs, demonstrating considerable care in the execution.
All except one, we said. But the 29th sign could also be there on purpose. The intruder could represent a supernova, the authors propose. Or a so-called “failed supernova”. So one of those objects that astronomers call transients: at a certain point they make their appearance, and then disappear again. If this were the case, researchers suggest, there could be a black hole there in that point of the sky today.
The Nebra disk, a bronze artifact from Germany that dates to approximately 1600 BC and has gold applications to represent the Sun, Moon, and Pleiades, is likely the oldest known representation of the night sky. However, it’s more of a symbolic representation than a true map. We have to go back to the first century BC for “faithful” maps, during which time maps were most likely derived from the 135 BC Hypparcos catalog.
Ancient Expensive Roman Domus With Beautiful Mosaic Unearthed In Rome
Archaeologists working within the Colosseum Archaeological Park’s research project, have unearthed some rooms of a luxurious domus dated to the late Republican age.
The discovery was made in close vicinity of the Horrea Agrippiana warehouse complex along the Vicus Tuscus (commercial road that connected the river port on the Tiber and the Roman Forum) built by Augustus’ son-in-law, Marco Vipsanio Agrippa.)
The domus is spread over several floors, probably divided into terraces, and characterized by at least three building phases dating back to the second half of the 2nd century BC and the end of the 1st century BC.
Distributed around an atrium/garden, the domus presents, as its main environment (the specus aestivus) a banquet hall that imitates a cave, used during the summer season and originally animated by spectacular games of water thanks to the passage of some lead fistulas (pipes) between the decorated walls.
An extraordinary wall decorated with the so-called “rustic” mosaic, characterized by the complexity of the scenes depicted and chronology, makes this discovery unique, researchers say in a press release.
The mosaic – dated to the last decades of the 2nd century BC – is made up of different types of shells, Egyptian blue tiles, precious glass, minute flakes of white marble or other types of stone, tartars (fragments of spongy travertine), and all this is bound by mortar and warps. The mosaic presents a complex sequence of figurative scenes.
In the four aedicules, defined by pilasters and decorated with vases from which shoots of lotus and vine leaves emerge, stacks of weapons are depicted with Celtic-type trumpets (carnyx), prows of ships with tridents, rudders with triremes which allude, perhaps , to a double triumph, land and naval, of the owner of the domus.
The large lunette above also presents a fascinating depiction of a landscape with, in the centre, a city, with a cliff simulated with travertine tartars, overlooking the sea crossed by three large ships, one of which with raised sails; a city wall with small towers surrounds the city equipped with porticoes, gates, and a large public building; on one side a pastoral scene.
The representation of a coastal city could allude to a war conquest by the owner of the domus, belonging to an aristocratic figure, presumably of senatorial rank, according to researchers. In an adjoining reception room, however, the careful restoration work has brought to light a white stucco covering with landscapes within fake architecture and figures of the highest quality.
“The discovery of a new domus with an environment decorated with a truly extraordinary mosaic represents an important result which demonstrates, once again, how much the Colosseum Archaeological Park and the Ministry of Culture are constantly committed to promoting research, knowledge, protection and enhancement of our extraordinary cultural heritage.
The discovery then has an important scientific value which makes the domus even more relevant.
After the reopening of the Domus Tiberiana and the improvement of the accessibility of the Flavian Amphitheater, with the inauguration of the elevator which now reaches the third level, the heart of Romanity has therefore revealed an authentic treasure, which it will be our responsibility to safeguard and make accessible to the public”, according the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano.
The archaeological excavation will end in the first months of 2024 and then, this specacular ancient structure will be prepared to finally welcome the public.
Magnificent 2 Meters Tall Marble Apollo Statue And Other Artifacts Found In San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy
Archaeologists excavating at Bagno Grande in San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy, have all reasons to celebrate. The 2023 excavation campaign that lasted three months resulted in many new and exceptional discoveries.
Located 110 km southeast of Florence and 70 km southeast of Siena, Bagno Grande, San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany is of great historical and archaeological importance.
A broken marble statue of Apollo was discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni.
Famous for its numerous springs of sulfurous waters spread throughout its territory, the San Casciano dei Bagni village has long attracted visitors from all over Europe.
As previously reported on Ancient Pages, archaeologists have been excavating at the site for a long time, and their work has been rewarding. Among the many finds, one can mention an extraordinary Etruscan and Roman treasure trove unearthed last year. Equally interesting are two dozen amazingly well-preserved bronze statues discovered in the thermal baths of San Casciano dei Bagni.
Thanks to the mud that protected them, the two dozen figurines and other bronze objects were found in perfect conservation, bearing delicate facial features, inscriptions, and rippled tunics. Alongside the figures were 5,000 coins in gold, silver, and bronze.
These are only a few fabulous archaeological finds at the site. The Italian archaeology team has now encountered an Etruscan structure beneath the temple with the large sacred Roman.
Experts are now studying several ancient inscriptions.
The thermal water that flows in the heart of the temple, with over 25 liters of hot water per second, is increasingly confirmed as the ritual and cultic engine of the sanctuary. Scientists are now also occupied with documenting the ancient inscriptions on the bronze statues.
The information will explain how the Etruscans and Romans used the temple and sacred basin. One of the most intriguing unearthed inscriptions is bilingual Etruscan-Latin.
One of many ancient objects found in San Casciano dei Bagni.
It is a rare example of bilingual inscriptions ever found, currently examined by Adriano Maggiani and Gian Luca Gregori. Etruria has around thirty bilingual inscriptions, but most are funerary inscriptions. In this case, the monumental donation has a public character and mentions the sacred and hot source in Etruscan and Latin.
This is an extraordinary document that confirms the coexistence of different people at the sanctuary still at the beginning of the 1st century AD, with the need for divinity to be understood by all.
One of the most surprising discoveries occurred when archaeologists excavating inside the temple stumbled upon broken parts of a marvelous marble statue of a beardless, young Apollo with lizards.
Archaeologists found the Apollo statue inside the temple.
The statue was broken when the sanctuary was closed at the beginning of the 5th century AD. In fact, this is when the entire place of worship was ritually closed, probably as a result of the widespread Christianization of the territory.
The statue had been deliberately broken.
While the votive deposit was protected with the deposition of the large travertine columns that decorated the temple portico, the cult statue of Apollo was broken and fragmented.
The pieces were almost scattered and then covered by the embankments of the site’s abandonment. In parallel with what we still know and observe today – the “contestation of the statue” coincides with a moment of profound transformation and significant political and social questions.
Many examples of Apollo cults have been linked to thermal waters since archaic times. Apollo appears in San Casciano dei Bagni starting from 100 B.C. if we think of the dancing bronze statue with a bow placed in the oldest basin and exhibited in the Quirinale Palace.
Credit: Unione dei Comuni Valdichiana Senese
The deity’s name occurs on at least two travertine altars from the Bagno Grande. Therefore, the marble statue adds a piece of the presence of the god but in a sanctuary which, at least from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D., was centered on the role of Apollo.
The archaeological excavation of the site covered approximately 400 m2, reaching a depth from the ground level in some points of over four meters.
Future digs will undoubtedly result in more exciting archaeological discoveries, shedding even more light on this fascinating ancient site.
