Nearly 2,000 years after it was buried in volcanic ash, Pompeii is turning up yet more breathtaking ancient splendours. Archaeologists working at the site have uncovered perfectly preserved fresco paintings inside what they believe to be the private residence of a wealthy individual.
One of the artworks depicts Helen of Troy meeting Paris, Prince of Troy, for the first time.
Legend has it that the meeting sparked the Trojan War of the 12th century BC.
The room was discovered along Via di Nola, one of Pompeii’s longest streets, and features a nearly complete mosaic floor with more than a million individual white tiles.
While Mount Vesuvius erupted back in 79 AD, a third of the city has still to be cleared of debris.
The current dig is hoping to unveil some of the city’s lost treasures and is the biggest in a generation.
A so-called ‘black room’ is the location of the beautiful frescoes, where an “imposing” banquet hall with elegant black walls was also found.
Its name derives from the fact that it was painted almost entirely in black, most likely to cover soot stains from the burning of oil lamps.
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, said: “Here people gathered to feast after sunset, the flickering light of the oil lamps made the images seem to move, especially after a few glasses of good Campania wine.”
Dr Sophie Hay, a British archaeologist who works at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, added that the ‘high quality’ frescos used the black walls as the background for the scene.
“The dining room seems to be vaguely unique in the sense that normally there are figurative panels with a border around them,” she told the Times.
“But the ones in that room are painted directly on to the background.
“So it’s like they’re doing something new, which is really nice but obviously they never got to enjoy it.”
Another newly-discovered fresco shows the Greek god Apollo trying to seduce the priestess Cassandra. Her later rejection resulted in her prophecies being ignored, according to legend.
Archaeologists are also clearing out a wide residential and commercial black known as Region 9.
It is no easy task, with workers required to act fast to ensure the frescoes remain in position, using plaster glue to stop them from coming away from the walls. Scaffolding and roofing are also being installed to further protect the artwork.
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