Archaeologists unearth 'tiny' house filled with striking artwork from 2,000 years ago

By Astha Saxena, News Reporter

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered intricate artwork inside a small Pompeii house (Image: Getty Images )

Archaeologists in Italy have stumbled upon some intricate artwork inside a small Pompeii house that reportedly was buried in ash and debris from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.

According to the Pompeii Archaeological Park, the "tiny" house was found during excavations at the Insula dei casti Amanti construction site, which is in the ancient city’s central district, reports the Independent. 

The park authorities claimed that the wall art in the dwelling is the most "striking". This includes a well-preserved fresco toward the back of the house, illustrating the tragic Greek myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra.

Other walls display scenes from various myths, such as a painting thought to depict Venus and Adonis, and another portraying the Greek story of the Judgment of Paris. In one image, a satyr - a creature half-man, half-goat - embraces a nymph.

Pompeian houses typically featured open-air atriums with basins to collect rainwater. The absence of one in this home likely reflects a shift in architectural style.

At the time, some Pompeii residents began moving away from atriums, which traditionally served as reception rooms and spaces for displaying portraits and trophies, replacing them with halls and courtyards instead.

In a courtyard near the fresco of Hippolytus and Phaedra, an altar is painted with plant and animal motifs, including a bird of prey holding a palm branch and two snakes facing each other. 

Archaeologists also discovered ritual offerings left behind during the eruption of 79 A.D., which claimed at least 2,000 lives in Pompeii and surrounding areas. Research published in 2021 indicates that the eruption killed the city’s inhabitants within 15 minutes.

The park reported finding an incense burner and a lamp with evident burn marks. Lab analysis identified remains of a dried fig and traces of scented essences.

The altar’s surface is inlaid with strips of colored marble, one depicting a face associated with a companion of Dionysus, the god of wine. Additionally, an iron knife was found at the front of the altar’s marble base.

Currently, archaeologists are working within a series of rooms, with some parts of the site now open to the public.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the park said: "It is an example of public archaeology or, as I prefer to call it, circular archaeology: conservation, research, management, accessibility and fruition form a virtuous circle."