Unveiling the Past: Remarkable Discoveries from Pompeii Shed Light on Ancient Lives

Still, Pompeii remains an archaeological goldmine, the brightest stir of a now-vanished heartbeat, where new discoveries reveal more about the people who lived, died and even dreamed. On a huge slab of marble, just to the north of the Forum, charcoal drawings made by a child’s hand depict various animals, ranging from unicorns and serpents to a dragon. At the Villa dei Misteri – the House of the Mysteries – a fresco depicts Dionysian revelries taking place inside a temple, where maidens are offering libations to the god. Elsewhere, the city’s last day has been trapped for eternity.

Pompeii: A City Frozen in Time

What makes Pompeii so fascinating is not just that it has been so well-preserved, but that it tells us stories – about living and dying. Pompeii was first uncovered in the 18th century, and has revealed, and continues to reveal, details about ancient Roman life.

The Latest Discoveries: A Glimpse into Ancient Artistry and Life

Among the more recent finds are those that shed light on Pompeii’s bustling, everyday life and its dramatic end, including human remains and a series of artworks, from children’s scribbles to intricate frescoes, each adding depth to understanding of the city’s inhabitants.

The Art of HOME and Hearth in Ancient Pompeii

Three houses have the most exciting scores: the House of the Painters at Work, for example, where there are the remains of two very old people, possibly hiding when Vesuvius erupted for the final time, and where the walls are decorated with frescoes of giants, harpies and other mythical beings. These frescoes tell of Pompeii’s cultural and artistic vitality.

Childhood through Charcoal: A Rare Glimpse into Ancient Play

Incredibly, these murals found in the colonnaded Cenacle were published precisely because excavators found in the middle of the paintings charcoal drawings probably drawn by a child’s hand: a gladiatorial contest, the head of an eagle, and a scene of a man on a horse hunting what appears to be a boar. Three small thumbprints were also left on the wall. The drawings and thumbprints are a poignant portrayal of Pompeii’s youngest inhabitants, especially when one sees small scenes of children drawn in red pigment.

Understanding Pompeii's People through their HOME Life

In 2022, the excavation of a middle-class Pompeian home filled with amphorae and cooking pots, and the genome of one of its residents who survived long enough to be overcome by the eruption, have helped to better define those patterns and show, in all its vivid details, what life was like every day and what life was like when it stopped. When combined with these recent discoveries, the bigger picture of what Pompeian society was like, what made people happy, what they did every day, and how they perished is starting to become clearer.

The Stories That HOMES Tell

Every house in Pompeii, from the grand estates with gleaming ivory-toned walls and swirling decorative frescoes to the plebeian quarters adorned with crude mark-making from the children living there, is a volume in the book that is Pompeii. They are a testament to the timelessness of home life, from spaces of creativity to safety to memory.

Pompeii's Eternal Legacy: Lessons from Ashes

With each removal of the unyielding deposit of ash, Pompeii continues to tell us something about the human condition, about art and culture and the intersection of human endeavours with the harsh forces of nature. The stories of those whose lives were cut short in Pompeii serve as a reminder of the precariousness of civilisation, and of the ever-present desire to understand the past.

Reflecting on HOME: The Heart of Every Story

By pulling at the loose threads of Pompeii, we’re reminded that the house is not only made up of bricks and mortar but of the people who live in it, their hopes and aspirations and the futures that they never got to see. Pompeii’s moment suspended is a reminder – a house, be it grand or humble, is always a story.

Amid the debris of ash, stones and plaster lying in the ruined lanes, there’s more than a glimpse of life in a town that is more than just a historical artefact. In the exposed frescoes, the scratches of ancient graffiti and the hush of a place that was once filled with human voices, we’re prompted to reflect on the similarities that still bind us to our long human past, and we’re challenged to consider what we might leave behind for the people who will eventually see through archaeologists’ eyes into our own buried worlds. Home, it turns out, has endured as those who entered its portals in this ancient town.