When Mount Vesuvius broke out in 79 CE, the enormous explosion buried the city of Pompeii in an amazing 19 meter axis and debris. (A recent study concludes that in the neighboring city Herculaneum the explosion was so intense that it varied The brain of a young man.) Since the excavations of the area started in 1748, discovery has revealed lush, moving and complex details about how life was in the Roman port city almost 2000 years ago.
When Vesuvius buried everything, the ashes offered an extremely protective cover for delicate frescoes and structures, such as an extensive fresco that has recently been excavated in a pastry room that “sheds light on the mysteries of Dionysus in the classical world,” says a statement of the Italy’s Ministry of Culture.
The large-scale painted Frieze Archaeologists call “House of Thiasos” the procession of Dionysus, God of Wine, together with Satyrs and Bacchantes-also known as Maenads who are simultaneously depicted as dancers and hunters.
In the middle of the composition, a woman is accompanied by SilenusAn older companion and tutor of Dionysus, with a torch. The woman “indicates that she is an initial,” says the Ministry of Culture, “a mortal woman who is about to be initiated by a nightly ritual in the mysteries of Dionysus, the god who dies and reborn and who promises the same to his followers.”
The painting spans three walls of a building-the fourth was open to a garden-in the so-called IX-district region, the painting shows a Frisian that is known as a ‘megalography’, derived from the Greek for ‘large painting’ and consists of a cycle of painting with almost life-sized figures. Archaeologists date the fresco to around 40 to 30 BC, almost 100 years old by the time that Vesuvius erupted.
Archeologies usually categorize the Roman and Pompeiian painting Four chronological periods Or styles: incortation (structural), architectural, graceful and complicated. Each style adjusted elements of the previous period to generate new motifs and trends.
It is thought that the new example of the party room is an indication of the second style in which figures or tableaux are framed in faux architectural niches and trompe-l’œil compositions. Strangely enough for art historians, all figures are depicted on pedestals “as if they were images,” says the Ministry of Culture, “while their movements, complexion and clothing make them look alive at the same time.”
Research into the region of IX, which includes approximately 3,200 square meters, started two years ago. Until now, the excavation of the completely buried block has unveiled two atrium houses – partly investigated in the 19th century – plus two workshop houses, some living rooms of a large domus, a black hall with scenes from the Trojan Saga and a sanctuary with a rare blue background. More than 50 new rooms have been identified and there is much more to discover.
While archaeologists gradually hop away from the old stack of volcanic detritus, new finds such as a food standard and a primitive pizza continue to awe and inspire our understanding of ancient Roman life. The site is open for public visits and you can investigate more about the Pompeii’s archaeological park website.
