POMPEII, Italy — Buried and unseen for nearly 2,000 years, a sacred room has been unearthed in Pompeii with walls painted blue, a rare and expensive color in the Roman city.
Describing it as “a very unusual thing for Pompeii,” site director Gabriel Zuchtriegel told NBC News during a visit to the newly excavated site that blue “was the most expensive color” because it was difficult to manufacture.
“It had to be imported from Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean and other places. So it was expensive, and if you wanted to have something in blue you had to pay more,” he said. Red, yellow and black were much easier to produce because natural materials like stone and sand were widely available, he added.
The surprising discovery was first revealed to NBC News on Tuesday.
It comes from block No. 10 of the ninth section of Pompeii, a never-before-excavated area of the city, destroyed in the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Decorated with female figures representing the four seasons and portraits of agriculture and sheep farming, the room was “interpreted as a tabernacle, a sanctuary dedicated to ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects,” the Pompeii Archaeological Park said in a statement. . Press release.
For wealthy politicians and businessmen, an elaborate classical painting was a statement piece and a talking point when entertaining guests.
Those who painted the rooms blue said, “I can afford something that’s not everyone’s capabilities,” Zuchtriegel said.
Mishael Quraishi, an archeology major, is one of several Massachusetts Institute of Technology students working at the site. Using specially adapted night vision goggles and handheld scanners, they are studying the new discovery.
Describing the room as “stunning”, she said it was actually rare to see such large amounts of Egyptian blue in one concentrated area.
It was “the first synthetically manufactured pigment in human history,” said Quraishi, 21, adding that it was made from a copper source “so brass filings could be an option.”
After bringing the elements together, she said they were heated to incredibly high temperatures for many hours “and then this kind of glassy material is formed with these Egyptian blue crystals.”
Sophie Hay, an archaeologist working at the site, said the fact that the frescoes were painted when the plaster was wet meant that “the pigments were sealed in the plaster”. If they had been painted on the surface, she said it would be unlikely the color would be as vibrant.
Because of the ancient technique the Romans used, “today we can take advantage of it,” she added.
In other parts of the room, which is about 86 square feet, archaeologists found building materials, suggesting redecoration was planned.
A collection of oyster shells was also discovered, likely waiting to be “finely ground for addition to plaster and mortar,” the press release said.
The excavation is part of a much larger project to help protect and preserve the excavated and unexcavated areas of Pompeii, which already includes more than 13,000 rooms in 1,070 houses and apartments – believed to be the largest excavation in a generation.
Pompeii and neighboring Herculaneum were popular resorts for wealthy Romans when they were devastated by the eruption, which lasted more than 24 hours and had the power of many thousands of nuclear bombs.
Last month, in what archaeologists have described as one of the most important in recent years, a series of Stunning paintings showing Helen of Troy and other Greek heroes were revealed to the public for the first time.
Discovered inside what archaeologists described as a “spectacular dining room” with unusual black walls, the remarkably well-preserved frescoes were inspired by the Trojan War, as told by the Greek poet Homer and featuring Paris and Helen of Troy, among others.
Zuchtriegel said at least 20 or 30 guests could easily fit in the room for lavish banquets and discussions about “culture, gossip and politics.”
He added that the paintings “were almost like invitations to discuss Greek myths.”
With a third of the site still buried, archaeologists are still trying to piece together the Pompeii puzzle.
“Two thousand years ago, someone last looked at it,” said site director Zuchtriegel. “Now we are the first to look at this again.”
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
