During excavations in the ruins of ancient Pompeii, archaeologists discovered an extremely small but richly decorated house with perfectly preserved frescoes. The wall paintings depict mythological scenes.
“The apartment, named the House of Phaedra after the mythological queen of Athens who appears in one of the wall paintings, sheds light on the changing architectural styles in the first century AD,” the Pompeii archaeological park said in a statement on Thursday.
Unlike most houses of the time, this newly discovered one was not built around a traditional Roman atrium. The atrium is an uncovered, rectangular room around which the living rooms were arranged. It served as a reservoir for collecting rainwater.
Frescoes on the walls
Although the house is small, the frescoes on its walls are very picturesque. One of the paintings refers to the myth of Phaedra, who was the daughter of King Minos and the second wife of Theseus.
Frescoes of similar quality can be found in a much larger and more opulent house located next to the new discovery.
The once bustling Pompeii, located near Naples, was destroyed in 79 AD during the eruption of Vesuvius. The volcanic eruption killed thousands of people and covered the city with a thick layer of ash.
Main photo source: Reuters