Archaeologists have uncovered a 'street of balconies' during excavations at a previously unexplored area of Pompeii.
Excavation of homes with balconies [Credit: Ciro Fusco]
Here parapets and floor tiles bear witness to four projecting balconies that withstood the devastating eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, which buried the ancient Roman city in a thick layer of volcanic rock and ash. Archaeologists have also found clay amphorae for wine still lying on their side after being placed in the sun to dry.
Railing from balcony [Credit: Ciro Fusco]
"For Pompeii conservation of the upper storey is a rarity", director Massimo Osanna told ANSA. Consequently, the balconies will be restored and included in a new itinerary linking the Street of Nola with the Street of the Silver Wedding, he added. In addition to the balconies, the site has also delivered up frescoes, vases, oil lamps and other treasures on a daily basis.
Wall fresco of a winged cupid figure [Credit: Ciro Fusco]
Some 10 m from the balconied houses workmen have just finished freeing up the top part of a wall in what appears to be a pleasant middle-class residence, where a pink-skinned cupid wearing a sea-blue drape can be seen against a wine-red background. The figure carries a full bucket of water and its presence might suggest that there are other, more intricate decorations on the as-yet uncovered lower section of wall.
Aerial view of Regio V taken from a dirigible in 1910 [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
On the other side of the street another residence with a square garden is coming to light that was having work done to it at the time of the eruption.
Drone view of excavation in Regio V [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
"It was in all likelihood renovation work after the devastating earthquake of 62 AD," Osanna said. An archaeobotanist who is working alongside the team of 40 diggers is studying the remains of the garden to establish what was grown there. She has poured plaster into the empty spaces left by the roots using the same technique that was employed to make the moving casts of the victims.
Bronze vessel abandoned by 18th century excavators [Credit: Ciro Fusco]
"The idea for now is that it was a vegetable garden surrounded by bushes and trees, possibly fruit trees," she said.
Detail of decoration from the peristyle of the House of the Silver Wedding [Credit: Ciro Fusco]
The new excavations over 1,400 sqm in the Regio V have the primary aim of shoring up 2.6 km of walls that are at risk of collapse, and work is expected to continue for months. And now archaeologists can count on new technologies that were not available even ten years ago. These include aerial drone photography, laser scanners and micro cameras that can be used to explore underground cavities.
A French tourist was fined €200 and given a suspended sentence after police caught him trying to leave Pompeii with a backpack stuffed with ancient Roman artefacts.
Photos of the looted artefacts released by the Carabinieri di Napoli [Credit: Metropolis]
Montpellier man Pierre Luc Giglio, 52, was stopped at Pompeii last Friday along with his companion, a 50-year-old French woman, after security guards noticed them acting suspiciously.
Upon searching their bags they found 13 fragments of terracotta and a piece of marble, believed to have been taken from the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, a well-preserved villa thought to have belonged to one of the city's wealthy inhabitants.
The couple told carabinieri officers that they just "wanted to take home a souvenir", according to local news site Metropolis.
At a hearing on Saturday, a judge sentenced Giglio, who was caught redhanded looting the remains, to four months' imprisonment, suspended, and ordered him to pay a €200 fine. His partner escaped charges since she was in a different part of the site at the time of the theft.
In court, the pair apologized to Pompeii's archaeological directors and put the act down to "bravado".
"We didn't mean to do any harm, we came because we're fascinated by the archaeological history of Pompeii," Metropolis quoted them as saying. According to the site, the pair have no plans to cut short their holiday in Italy because of the incident.
Authorities face an enormous challenge to protect Pompeii's treasures, whether from light-fingered tourists, professional thieves or simply the wear and tear of thousands of years and millions of visitors.
In March, an American tourist was caught dislodging the tiles of a priceless mosaic as he attempted to get a picture of the House of the Sailor. He was questioned by police but released without charge.
Meanwhile the site has struggled for centuries with tourists who pocket relics as holiday souvenirs or even to sell for a profit.
Archaeologists recently found illegal tunnels that they suspected were built by robbers, prompting them to begin excavating the Civita Giuliana area north of the city walls. The dig resulted in the unprecedented discovery of the remains of a horse, which experts were able to cast in its entirety.
Sometimes the thieves themselves try to make amends. In 2014, a Canadian tourist returned an artefact she had stolen from Pompeii's amphitheatre during her honeymoon – 50 years earlier.
And several thieves have sent back the loot claiming the relics are 'cursed'. Pompeii's archaeological superintendent said in 2015 that he was considering setting up an exhibition of the returned artefacts and accompanying letters, to tell the story behind the stolen pieces.
A splendid marble head has been found at Ostia Antica during some routine maintenance work on post-classical storage facilities.
Credit: Roma-Repubblica
"It may be a copy of the Bathing or Crouching Aphrodite by Doidalsas, or it could be one of the muses," say archaeologists Mariarosaria Barbera and Cinzia Morelli, after an initial evaluation of the sculpture.
The Bathing Aphrodite is the most famous work of the Greek sculptor Doidalsas of Bithynia, who lived in the third century BC.
Credit: Roma-Repubblica
It is believed that Doidalsas was a member of the school of Lyssipos and the official sculptor of the court of the king of Bithynia Nikomedes I (279-255 BC).
Apparently, Nikomedes I commissioned Doidalsas to make the statue because he could not acquire Aphrodite of Knidos, which he wanted very much.
The transfer of the statue to Rome determined its fame, because it was often copied to decorate gardens and baths.
"Very important" archaeological finds dating to the fourth century BC and second century AD were recovered in a double operation by Carabinieri art cops in Lazio Friday.
In the first op two Roman businessman were nabbed after spending huge sums of money on the finds, including two kraters and two heads, one of a bull and one of a horse, probably from a much larger sculptural group, police said.
The second op traced sales on the Internet of artefacts from the ancient site at Ardea south of Rome, police said.
The total value of the objects recovered was some 900,000 euros.
The façade of the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere has been restored to its former glory after a restoration carried out by experts of the Rome Special Superintendent's office lasting a year and a half and costing 400,000 euros.
Credit: AGF
Now the splendid medieval mosaics that run horizontally across the front can be admired in all their glimmering gold, with the Madonna dominating the scene and in an ideal dialogue with the 19th century paintings by Silverio Capparoni and the 18th century portico designed by architect Carlo Fontana under Pope Clement XI.
The restoration is the result of a complex process due to the co-presence of various styles and materials and the various interventions carried out on the basilica over time, including the addition of the portico and of the fresco paintings by Capparoni from 1863 to 1874.
Credit: AGF
The restorers led by Elvira Cajano focused their efforts on the figures (Christ with the angels, the Gospel writers, Pius IX, the lambs and the palm trees), which had almost disappeared due to the rain and pollution.
Now, where possible, the original colour has been restored.
Credit: AGF
Working on the detail while also guaranteeing the comprehensive overview of a monument that was designed to be seen from a distance was also difficult.
The restorers began by studying the sources and conducting a diagnostic campaign, before proceeding with cleaning and restoration of the mosaics, frescoes, statues and structures in travertine and granite, consolidation of the masonry and creation of rain conduits.
Credit: AGF
"The memory of this façade was lost because it was faded and neglected. I have lived in Trastevere for years and I find it moving," said Rome Special Superintendent Francesco Prosperetti.
"The restoration started with 200,000 euros of ministerial funds; then the other 200,000 came in from the takings at the Colosseum, 30% of which are given to the Superintendent's Office. With that money we hope to be able to restore other monuments and also make this restoration last, because the façade of Santa Maria in Trastevere needs regular maintenance."
For the first time ever, archaeologists have been able to cast the complete figure of a horse that perished in the volcanic eruption at Pompeii.
Remains of a horse in a plaster cast found in the stables of a villa in Pompeii [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
The "extraordinary" discovery was made outside the city walls, in Civita Giuliana to the north of Pompeii proper, the site's directors announced this week.
Excavation in the area revealed what archaeologists identified as a stable, complete with the remains of a trough.
Plaster cast shows evidence of looter damage to the hind of the house [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
Using the same technique that has allowed them to recreate the final poses of dozens of Pompeii's victims, whereby liquid plaster is injected into the cavities left behind when bodies encased in volcanic matter decomposed, they were able to cast the horse as it would have lain when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
From the remains of its skeleton, they believe the horse was an adult measuring around 150 centimetres tall at the withers: on the short side by today's standards, but given that horses were probably smaller at the time, the experts say it would have been exceptionally large for its time.
Detail of horse's head [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
That, along with the fact that traces of a harness in valuable iron and bronze were found by its head, suggests that the animal was a specially bred parade horse, probably of considerable value.
While the skeletons of donkeys and mules have been found at Pompeii, in a stable attached to the Casa dei Casti Amanti ('House of the Chaste Lovers'), it's the first time archaeologists have unearthed the complete outline of a horse.
Entry to a looter tunnel [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
The distinct imprint left by its ear, pressed to the ground as the animal lay on its left side, makes them confident this is indeed a horse and not another type of equid.
Along with a pig and a dog, it is one of the few animals of any species to be successfully cast at Pompeii.
Laser scan map showing looters' tunnels [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
Its survival is all the more remarkable for the fact that the area where it was found – a sort of suburb of ancient Pompeii – has been subjected to illegal excavations in recent decades.
Alarmed by the discovery of unauthorized tunnels, the site's archaeologists began new digs at Civita Giuliana in order to halt the intrusions and protect its remaining treasures.
Carbonized wood from a bed [Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii]
As well as the horse, they also found the remains of jugs, tools and kitchen utensils, as well as the grave of a man buried after the fatal eruption – which indicates that people continued to live around or on top of the ruins even after the disaster.
Intriguing discoveries continue to be made at Pompeii, nearly two millennia and scores of excavations later.
Last month, archaeologists discovered the complete skeleton of a young child in a bathhouse long thought to have been fully excavated.
