A 2,000-year-old luxury bath was discovered in a new excavation in Pompeii
The ancient Roman city of Pompeii, buried in ash and lava in AD 79, has found a new treasure – a private bathhouse built 2,000 years ago, decorated with lavish mosaics and equipped with a series of hot, warm and cold rooms. spa.
“Here we have perhaps the largest thermal complex in a private house in Pompeii,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological park. “Members of Pompeii’s ruling class built enormous spaces in their homes to hold feasts.
“They had the function of building consensus, promoting the election campaign, closing deals. It was an opportunity to show the riches they lived in and also a nice heat treatment,” he said.
The baths were found in the so-called Regio IX, the large still-unexplored central region of Pompeii’s park, where major archaeological excavations are revealing new aspects of Pompeian daily life.
Zuchtriegel said the layout is reminiscent of scenes from a Roman novel Satyriconwhere banquets and baths were central to the display of wealth and status.
Excavations at Pompeii revealed one of the largest private bath complexes ever found in the city, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. A private residence adjacent to the banquet hall in the complex as well as a private bath.
Recently, archaeologists working in the same area discovered a bakery, laundry, two villas and the bones of 3 people who died during the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
About 13,000 people lived in Pompeii at the time of the eruption. The ruins of the city are located about 23 kilometers southeast of Naples, and excavations over the years have uncovered the remains of more than 1,000 victims.
The remains of 2 people were found during the excavation
Images from the excavation site show dusty walls decorated with red, black, or yellow stripes or blocks, and a large rectangular basin in the corner of the bath with what looks like curved stone steps or seats.
Zuchtriegel said Pompeii’s wealthy residents often used it to bathe first and then party, so the private spa complex allowed them to do so in the same home.
“There is room for about 30 people who can do all the daily activities and that can be done in the public baths. So there is a calidarium, a very warm environment and also a big tub with cold water,” he said.
In a private residence with a bathroom, there was another revelation for archaeologists: the remains of two people, a woman between 35 and 50 years old holding jewelry and coins, and a younger man.
English