New frescoes in good condition, including one about the Greek myth of Hippolytus and Phaedrahave been discovered in the excavation of some small houses in Pompeiithe ancient Roman city buried by the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano two millennia ago, as announced this Thursday by the archaeological site.
The discovery occurred in the excavations of the so-called Insula of Chaste Loversan area of ”small autonomous houses of small size”, but “with extremely refined decoration”, located in the central district of the city.
According to the researchers, who published details of the findings in an article in the Pompeii digital magazine, the house where the fresco was found had “limited space”, without the atrium – central courtyard – with a pond to collect rainwater. “typical of the architecture of rich Pompeian residences.”
This, experts point out, “draws attention to the high level of decoration of its walls”, which “nothing to envy” to larger homes, and could be a sample of “the changes in Roman society, and in particular Pompeian society, in the 1st century BC”, something that is still being investigated.
“The two rooms under investigation they are in the back of the house,” they specify.
In it, a representation of the myth of the Cretan princess Phaedra and her tragic infatuation with his stepson Hipólitoin addition to other images from the wide repertoire of the Greco-Roman imaginary on “splendidly decorated walls.”
Among them, there is “a representation of a symplegma (intercourse) between satyr and nymph, a painting with a divine couple, perhaps Venus and Adonis, and a scene unfortunately damaged” by previous explorations that probably represents the Judgment of Paris.
A window next to the painting of Hippolytus and Phaedra opens space to a small patio where work was being done at the time of the eruption, and there a small lararium – altar – was found with “rich painting, decoration with plant and animal motifs on a white background.”
At the top of the lararium stands out “a bird of prey in flight, probably an eagleholding a palm branch in its claws, and at the bottom you can see two snakes facing each other” that are represented around a circular altar to which flowers are placed as an offering, the archaeological park statement specifies.
In the decorations of the altar it is also seen “a pine cone, a raised element that supports an eggwhat appears to be a fig and a date.”
In the patio of the house there was also a covered area with “a large swimming pool with walls painted red.” Around it “a canal ran that allowed rainwater to be carried to the mouth of a well connected to a cistern below.”
In turn, ritual objects from the last offering before the destruction of 79 AD were found inside the altar. C., among which there are “a colorless ceramic censer with old holes and a lamp, both with obvious signs of burning”.
On the other hand, an element was also found on the surface of the altar that seems to be made of red marble, and that represents a face. “attributable to the Dionysian sphere, probably a Silenus.”
The current excavations are part of a project in this central area of Pompeii that has involved several phases, some completed, and which has led to the construction of a series of elevated walkways so that the public can walk and contemplate the excavated area.
All of this, “it is an example of public or circular archaeology”, based on a marked process of conservation, research, management, accessibility and use that forms “a virtuous circuit,” highlights the director of the archaeological park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel.
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