Tiny house with elaborate – and erotic – frescoes unearthed at Pompeii

By Issy Ronald and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN

(CNN) — Archaeologists have uncovered a tiny house in Pompeii that is filled with elaborate – and sometimes erotic – frescoes, further revealing the ornate way in which Romans decorated their homes.

Situated in the central district of the ancient city, the house is smaller than normal and unusually lacks the open central courtyard – known as an atrium – that is typical of Roman architecture, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, which oversees the site, said in a statement Thursday.

This change could have occurred due to shifting trends in Roman – and particularly Pompeian – society, during the first century AD, archaeologists said.

Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 when its buildings and thousands of inhabitants were buried beneath layers of ash and pumice. This coating perfectly preserved the city for millennia, making it one of the most important archaeological sites in the world as it offers an unprecedented insight into Roman daily life.

This latest discovery spotlights the ornate decorations that rich Romans enjoyed in their homes – several frescoes depict mythical scenes and others are decorated with plant and animal motifs on a white background.

One small square painting set against a blue-painted wall depicts intercourse between a satyr and a nymph, while another shows Hippolytus, son of the mythical Greek king Theseus, and his stepmother Phaedra who fell in love with him before killing herself when he rejected her in disgust.

One fresco likely portrays the Judgement of Paris, though it has been damaged by previous excavations, and another shows Venus, the goddess of love, and Adonis, her mortal lover.

Erotic and elaborate frescoes like this have been uncovered in Pompeii before. One house covered in erotic frescoes reopened to the public in January 2023 after being closed for 20 years while another fresco depicting an erotic scene from the Greek myth “Leda and the Swan” was uncovered in 2018.

Elsewhere in this newly excavated house, the last ritual offerings left before the eruption still remain at the household shrine, known as a lararium.

“We have archaeologists, restorers, archaeobotanists here to understand exactly how the ritual of the last sacrifice was carried out before the eruption,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the park’s director, in a statement.  “There are still the burnt remains of this ritual, there is the knife that was used.”

This excavation, Zuchtriegel added, “takes place under the eyes of the public” who can access the site on suspended walkways and watch archaeologists working.

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