New frescoes are discovered in Pompeii – 03/01/2024 – Science

Frescoes representing, among others, a mythological scene were discovered in Pompeii, announced on Friday (1st) the famous archaeological site located near Naples, in southern Italy.

Restoration and excavation work made it possible to discover frescoes of great value in and around the House of Leda, one of the mansions in the ancient city of Pompeii, destroyed and buried under ash in 79 AD by the eruption of Vesuvius.

The most impressive is undoubtedly the mythological scene of Phrixus and his twin sister Hele, who flee from their stepmother Ino on the Golden Fleece ram. Phrixus, atop the rearing ram, watches helplessly as his unfortunate sister Hele falls toward the waters over which they fly.

This “fresco, which shows us two fugitives in the sea of ​​ancient Greece”, in the words of Pompeii director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, is presented as a painting framed on a wall whose background is yellow-gold and adorned with delicate decorations.

Among the other frescoes discovered are still lifes and portraits of women.

The ongoing excavations at Casa de Leda seek to reconstruct its complete plan and collect sufficient information to determine the main pieces of two other rooms located to the north and south.

Cleaning operations of the frescoes are underway to remove volcanic ash and consolidate them before moving into the restoration phase.

The volcanic ash expelled 2,000 years ago by Vesuvius settled over most of the houses in Pompeii, which facilitated their almost complete preservation, as well as many bodies of the 3,000 dead that the catastrophe caused.

Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pompeii, the second most visited tourist site in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome, covers a total area of ​​around 22 hectares, of which a third is still under ash.