Archaeologists have found at the site of Pompeii (southern Italy) “one of the largest private thermal complexes” ever found at the site of this ancient Roman city destroyed by the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in the year 79.
The space, which is “annexed to a banquet hall”, has emerged from ongoing excavations in the so-called Insula 10 of the Regio IX area of Pompeii and reveals samples of the opulence of whoever owned the place two millennia ago, this has reported. Friday the Archaeological Park of the site.
According to its director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, it is “an example of how the ‘Roman domus’ served as a setting for the artistic and cultural spectacle that the owner put on to win votes and ingratiate himself with the good will of the guests.”
The paintings on the walls also stand out, “with themes from the Trojan War” or representations of athletes, elements that sought to expose an environment “of culture, erudition and leisure.” There is also a room with black-covered walls, “which was supposed to transport guests to a great Greek palace,” another element of opulence.
So far, this is “one of the largest and most articulated places among the private thermal spaces ever known in Pompeii,” highlights the Archaeological Park in a note.
The complex belonged “to some important person in local society” who was part of the city’s elite and who, given its position, had “a space to accommodate numerous people, to whom they could offer rich banquets and the opportunity to bathe.” and relax.”
“It is a house of its own with enormous spaces to hold banquets. These had the function of creating consensus, of promoting an electoral campaign, of closing deals,” says Zuchtriegel.
These events were also attended by “more humble people” to whom the powerful man showed his wealth and offered to “do a good treatment in the hot springs of the house,” in which “would probably be the largest thermal complex in a home.” of Pompeii,” adds the director.
“It was common for the bath to take place first and then the banquet, all in the complex of the same house, where there is space for thirty people,” details the director, who assures that the thermal space had all the necessary structures.
The baths were made up of the ‘calidarium’, ‘tepidarium’ and ‘frigidarium’ (hot, warm and cold room), and the house also incorporated a cold room with a large porticoed patio in the center of which was a large pond.
“Everything worked around the staging of a ‘show’, at the center of which was the owner himself,” concludes Zuchtriegel.
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