A picture provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, showing the latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii which is enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
There is a trunk with a lid. The shelves caved in. There are three-legged accent tables. Archeologists have found new information about middle-class lives in Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city.
The recent finds were announced at Pompeii's archaeological park. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, its director, said the excavation of rooms in a "domus," or home, first unearthed in 2018, had revealed precious details about the domestic environment of ordinary citizens of the city.
The villas of Pompeii's upper-class residents were the focus of previous excavations. The lives of the middle class as well as servants and other enslaved people have been the focus of archaeological activity in the site.
Zuchtriegel said that there was an ample chunk of the population that struggled with their social status and for whom daily bread was not a given. During political crises and food shortages, a vulnerable class is also ambitious to climb the social ladder.
The domus was christened the House of the Larario for an area of a home devoted to domestic spirits. There is a home found in the courtyard.
In this image provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, archeologists work on the site of a new discovery. The latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii are enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
Zuchtriegel said that the financial resources weren't enough to decorate the five rooms of the house. The room was used for storage and the walls were painted black.
Archeologists found the remains of a bed frame in a bedroom. The bed that was found last year in a tiny room in another residence was similar to the three cot-like beds that were found there.
The remains of a wooden trunk were found in the bedroom. Although the weight of beams and ceiling panels that crashed down in the wake of the volcanic explosion heavily damaged the trunk, there was an oil lamp decorated with a bas relief depicting the ancient Greek deity Zeus being turned into an eagle. There was a small three-legged round table nearby.
A picture provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, showing the latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii which is enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
A picture provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, showing the latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii which is enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
A picture provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, showing the latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii which is enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
In this image provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, an archeologist works on the site of a new discovery. The latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii are enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
A picture provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, showing the latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii which is enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
A picture provide by the Pompeii Archeological site press office, showing the latest discoveries in the ancient city of Pompeii which is enriching knowledge about the everyday lives of middle-class households. The director of the archaeological site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, that excavations of rooms in a home first unearthed in 2018, revealed the environment of ordinary citizens of the city, which was flourishing before being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei via AP
The wooden closet's backboard was intact but the shelves caved in. Archaeologists think the closet held cookware and dishes for the kitchen. There was a hinge in the enclosure.
There is a large fragment of a translucent, rimmed plate in brilliant shades of blue and emerald and a well-preserved incense burner in the house.
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