Latest news with #PompeiiArchaeologicalPark
Fox News
18-05-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Pompeii family's desperate final moments revealed in new archaeological excavation
Archaeologists uncovered disturbing details about a Pompeii family's fight for survival during the destructive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The Pompeii Archaeological Park announced the recent excavation in a Facebook post in April. Researchers investigated the House of Helle and Phrixus in Pompeii, finding proof of "residents' attempts to save themselves from the ongoing eruption." The house consists of an entrance, an atrium with a water collection basin called an impluvium, and a bedroom — plus a room with a canopy and a banquet hall with "richly decorated walls." "This opening may have allowed lapilli (volcanic rock fragments) to rain inside the house during the early phases of the eruption, from which the victims, now found, tried to protect themselves by taking refuge in a room barricaded with a bed," noted the statement, which was translated from Italian to English. "A cast of the bed was made by identifying voids in the solidified ash formed by the organic decomposition of the wood," officials said. "Plaster was poured into the voids to reconstruct the shape of the bed preserved as an imprint in the ash." In one striking account, researchers found that a family placed a bed across a bedroom door as a makeshift barricade to protect themselves against the volcanic eruption. Archaeologists also came across the remains of at least four people in the house, including a child. "The child likely owned the bronze bulla found here, an amulet worn by boys until reaching adulthood," the post said. A family placed a bed across a bedroom door as a makeshift barricade to protect themselves against the volcanic eruption. Excavators also found various pantry items, which paint a vivid picture of daily life in Ancient Rome. "Among various other objects discovered were a stash of amphorae stored under a staircase serving as a pantry, some used to contain garum, a widely used fish sauce; and a set of bronze vessels, including a ladle, a single-handled jug, a basket-shaped vase, and a shell-shaped cup," the statement said. The house may have also been undergoing renovation at the time of the eruption, as there were thresholds removed and traces of wall cutting sitting at the entrance of the residence. "However, it continued to be occupied by its residents, who, caught by the eruption, chose not to leave the house, meeting their end there," the statement added. The house was named for a mythological painting that depicts Elle and Phrixus, two figures in Greek mythology. The painting was found on one of the house's walls, though archaeologists do not believe that the inhabitants worshiped Greek gods. "[In] the 1st century AD, these stories no longer held the religious and cultural significance they had in the archaic and classical ages," the archaeological organization said. The excavation helps to confront "the fragility of life for all of us." "We must assume, therefore, that their function in the homes of the middle and upper classes was primarily entertainment, the display of economic and cultural status, and 'beauty,' which is also evident in this medium-sized domus." In a statement, Pompeii Archaeological Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said the excavation helps to confront "the fragility of life for all of us." "In this wonderfully decorated small house, we found traces of the inhabitants who tried to save themselves by blocking the entrance to a small room with a bed, of which we made a cast," Zuchtriegel said. "This was because lapilli, volcanic stones, were entering through the atrium roof opening, threatening to invade the space," he continued. "They didn't make it; in the end, the pyroclastic flow arrived, a violent stream of scorching ash that filled every room here, as elsewhere, with seismic shocks having already caused many buildings to collapse."
News.com.au
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Incredible new Pompeii find shed light on secretive cult of Bacchus
Sex. Drugs. And the Roman version of Rock'n' Roll. Pompeii knew how to party. But you had to be an initiate first. And a new discovery embraces the wild side of the ancient empire's women. Yet another richly decorated banquet hall has been dug out of the volcanic dust and rubble. What makes this one special is the life-size frieze that runs along three sides of the room. It shows a Thiasus (procession) for the god of wine and festivity. And it celebrates the admission of a young woman to the mystery cult. 'For the ancients, the bacchante or maenad expressed the wild, untameable side of women,' says director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii Gabriel Zuchtriegel. '(It's about) the woman who abandons her children, the house and the city, who breaks free from male order to dance freely, go hunting and eat raw meat in the mountains and the woods.' The fresco provides insight into the secretive cult of Bacchus – the god of frenzy and ecstasy. The damaged central scene shows an older man whispering to the initiate. He's holding a torch to light the way. And above the panel is a strange scene of snakes and fish. Female celebrants shown as dancers in diaphanous gowns or naked hunters carrying their catch are arrayed on either side. Prancing among them are the cult's iconic human-goat hybrid satyrs playing flutes and drinking. 'These frescoes have a profoundly religious meaning which, however, was also designed to decorate areas for holding banquets and feasts,' Zuchtriegel explains, 'rather like when we find a copy of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam on the wall of an Italian restaurant in New York to create a little bit of atmosphere.' Women unchained 'What we see is actually a scene of initiation into the mysteries of Dionysus (the Greek name of Bacchus). In antiquity, various mystery cults existed, not only with regard to Dionysus, but also of Demeter and Isis,' says Zuchtriegel. All involved secret initiation rites, closely guarded beliefs, and intense ceremonies designed to create a spiritual experience for participants. While not official pantheon religions sponsored by the Roman state, they were widely tolerated as somewhat scandalous pursuits. The symbology of the newly uncovered banquet hall frieze appears simple. It's colourful. It's energetic. It's filled with an abundance of food and wine. 'The hunt of the Dionysiac bacchantes was 'a metaphor for an unrestrained, ecstatic life that aims to achieve' great, wondrous things',' Zuchtriegel explains. But the cult was built around the myth that Bacchus had been 'born again'. Some accounts say the son of Persephone had been torn apart by the Titans, the predecessors to the gods. But the king of the gods and his father, Zeus, had his heart recovered and used to bring him back to life through a second mother, Semele. Another says he was born twice. The unborn godchild survived the killing of his mother, Semele. Zeus then carried him to full term by sewing him into his thigh. Most of his myths tell of the boy-god growing up, discovering wine, and rejecting the strictures of civilisation for the pursuit of pleasure and a simple life. The newly discovered fresco shows his tutor and mentor – the old man Silenus – introducing a woman to the cult, promising 'rebirth' into a new life of bliss and plenty. But while Bacchus was worshipped for bringing joy wherever he went, he could drive wayward followers into madness. Archaeologists say the freshly excavated house, dubbed Thiasus after the Bacchanalian procession, had been painted some 40 years before the eruption. It's not the only Pompeii mansion to celebrate the god of excess. The 'House of Bacchus' was excavated in 1879. One of its frescoes shows the god standing beside Mount Vesuvius, wrapped in a gown of giant wine grapes. Beneath writhes another sinister snake. Ancient interior design Roman builders had a clear philosophy: axiality – the Durchblick or 'view through'. Researchers say this wasn't just an architectural idea. The 'right to a clear view' was also a part of Roman law. A virtual reality reconstruction of a Pompeian villa demonstrates how this played out in its occupant's daily lives. The study in the American Journal of Archaeology tracks the sight lines of visitors as they enter and move through one excavated villa, the House of the Greek Epigrams. It shows Roman builders and interior decorators used layouts of long, straight, clear lines to allow people to see through most of the house. But what they saw, and when, was tightly scripted. 'Archaeological investigations conducted on the physical remains of Roman houses and their decor have emphasised the highly ritualistic character of the domestic space, in that it encompassed activities (both religious and habitual …) that were formalised and meaningful,' the study reads. In the case of the House of the Greek Epigrams, those on the street passing by see 'suitably modest motifs, deliberately concealing more luxurious decorative elements'. But guests were given the full sensory-manipulation experience. The artworks exploit the shifting focus of the eye to bring frescoes to life. And different scenes move in and out of the shadows at different times of the day to evoke tailored moods. As with modern interior design, it was as much about the 'construction of the identity of the owner of the house' as it was decorative. 'Rather than rooms with a single view or multiple views, the Roman house would have offered a complex visual palimpsest made up of moving views, interconnected journeys, and comings and goings, of successive investigations in search of the unexpected new detail and mnemonic connections, through the skilful visual play of paintings under the light and in the shadows,' it concludes.
