A discovery by Pompeii archaeologists has added information about a middle-class household in an ancient Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption.
Among the latest finds are an open chest of drawers, a wooden china cabinet, a folding shelf and a tripod with a decorative bowl.
Pompeii Archaeological Park, one of Italy’s major tourist attractions, has announced its latest discovery.
Its director, Gabriel Züftriegel, said excavations of the “domus,” or house room, first discovered in 2018 revealed valuable details about the home environment of the city’s civilian population, which was destroyed after the explosion. Said it happened. 79 AD. Vesuvius.
Excavations in recent years have focused mainly on lavish villas decorated with elaborate frescoes by Pompeii’s upper-class residents.
However, archaeological activity in the vast area near modern Naples has increasingly focused on the life of the middle class alongside servants and other slaves.
“In the Roman Empire, there was a large part of the population suffering from social status, and for them the ‘daily bread’ was just a gift,” explains Zuchtriegel. He said. “A class that is vulnerable in times of political crisis and food shortages, but at the same time an ambitious class that climbs the social ladder.”
The finds, announced Saturday, include furniture and household items from the Domus, called the Lalario House, in an area of houses dedicated to the house spirit known as the Lares. There is one in the courtyard of the house excavated in 2018.
Züftriegel noted that although the courtyard had a beautifully decorated reservoir, “we didn’t have enough (financial) resources to decorate the five rooms of the house.”
One room had unpainted walls and dirt floors and was apparently used as a warehouse.
In one bedroom, archaeologists found the remains of a bed frame printed with pillow fabric.
The type of bed is the same as three cradle-like beds discovered last year in a small room in another dwelling that archaeologists say served as storage and sleeping quarters for the families of Pompeii’s slave inhabitants. .
Due to the volcanic eruption, the weight of the beams and ceiling panels that fell to the ground severely damaged the chest, but inside was an oil lamp in which the ancient Greek god Zeus turned into an eagle.
Archaeologists believe that the cabinet they found had at least four paneled doors and contained utensils and dishes for the adjoining kitchen. They found the hinge of the safe.
Other items found in the house include a large piece of translucent rimmed plate in lighter shades of cobalt blue and emerald, and a well-preserved cradle-shaped incense.
Source: Belfasttelegraph
