16 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New finds in ancient Rome’s Pompeii show ‘conditions of precarity and poor hygiene, in which people of lower status lived during that time

Archaeologists have discovered a small bedroom in Civita Giuliana villa near Pompeii that was almost certainly used by slaves, throwing light on their lowly status in the ancient world, Italy’s Culture Ministry said on Sunday.

The room found at the Civita Giuliana villa contained two beds, only one of which had a mattress, two small cabinets, urns, and ceramic containers, in which the remains of two mice and a rat were found.

The room was found at the villa, some 600 meters (2,000 feet) north of the walls of Pompeii, which was wiped out by a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.

“These details once again underline the conditions of precarity and poor hygiene in which the lower echelons of society lived during that time,” the culture ministry said in its statement.

Materials such as furniture and fabric decomposed over time after being covered by the devastating blast of rock fragments, gas, and ash from Vesuvius, leaving a void in the debris. When the plaster is used to fill the void, it reveals the original shape and contours of the long-gone material, including the outline of a crumpled blanket left on the bed netting.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Some sideboards that kept some work tools, some amphorae and baskets and vases kept in a sort of storage shelf at a room assigned to the slaves found in Civita Giuliana, a suburb of the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy. Photo: EPA-EFE/Italian Culture Ministry

No traces were found of grates, locks, or chains to restrain the room’s inhabitants.

“It seems that control was primarily exerted through the internal organization of servitude, rather than physical barriers and restraints,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

The new room, called “room “A”, is different from the one already known as room “C”, rebuilt in November 2021 in which three cots were positioned and which served at the same time as a closet. What has now emerged suggests a precise hierarchy within the servitude.

While one of the two beds found in recent weeks is of the same invoice, extremely simple and without a mattress, as those of 2021, the other is of a more comfortable and expensive type, known in the bibliography as a “spalliera bed”. Traces of red decorations on two of the backs are still visible in the cinerite. In addition to the two beds, in the recently excavated room there are two small wardrobes, also partially preserved as casts, a series of amphorae and ceramic vases and various tools, including an iron hoe.

The micro-excavation of vases and amphorae from room “C” has in the meantime revealed the presence of at least three rodents: two mice in an amphora and a rat in a jug, positioned under one of the beds and from which it seems that the animal tried to escape when he died in the pyroclastic flow of the eruption. Details that once again underline the conditions of precariousness and hygienic discomfort in which the last of the society of the time lived.

Archaeologists said part of one of the beds had been destroyed by a tunnel used by robbers to access another part of the villa.

Excavations at the Civita Giuliana villa were carried out in 1907-1908, and then again from 2017, when police realized the site was being plundered by illegal diggers.

Italian Culture Ministry

Cover Photo: Italian Culture Ministry

Related Articles

Unlucky medieval woman underwent at least two skull surgeries in Longobard Italy

14 February 2023

14 February 2023

A detailed examination of the skull of a woman who lived at the medieval settlement of Castel Trosino in central...

Early Iron Age cremation burial containing bronze jewelry and rare textile fragments found in Austria

9 July 2023

9 July 2023

Archeologists from the Vienna Natural History Museum (NHM), a cremation burial containing bronze jewelry and rare surviving textile fragments have...

Małopolskie Region Reveals Oldest Evidence of Metal Mining in Poland, Dating Back 1,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

16 February 2025

16 February 2025

Researchers have uncovered the oldest confirmed evidence of metal ore mining and metallurgy in Poland through the study of lead...

6th Century Anglo-Saxon Warriors May Have Fought in Northern Syria

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

Researchers have suggested compelling evidence that Anglo-Saxon warriors from late sixth-century Britain participated in Byzantine military campaigns in the eastern...

Vietnam’s Nguom Rock Roof: A 124,000-Year-Old Paleolithic Site of Global Significance

29 September 2025

29 September 2025

Hidden along the limestone slopes above the Than Sa River in Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam, rises the monumental Nguom...

Hornelund Brooches: Exquisite Viking Gold Ornaments with Norse and Christian Symbolism Unearthed in Denmark

5 August 2025

5 August 2025

The Hornelund Brooches are rare and captivating examples of Viking Age goldsmithing, discovered in southwestern Jutland, Denmark. These two intricately...

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20...

Archeologists Unearth Spectator snacks from the Roman Period in Colosseum

28 November 2022

28 November 2022

An excavation of the Colosseum’s sewer systems has uncovered a selection of spectator snacks from the Roman Period. It appears...

Well-Preserved Wooden Houses Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered in Zhejiang, China

15 March 2025

15 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved wooden houses dating back over...

Scotland’s Giant Neolithic Timber Hall Discovered—Built 1,000 Years Before Stonehenge

8 July 2025

8 July 2025

Archaeologists uncover one of the largest Neolithic timber halls in Scotland, revealing a long-lost site of prehistoric gatherings, rituals, and...

New research reveals that Baltic amber was transported to the most westerly region of the continent more than 5,000 years ago

21 October 2023

21 October 2023

A team of scientists has identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that...

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists identify unknown sites and Serbia’s hidden Bronze Age megastructures

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists at University College Dublin identified more than 100 previously unknown sites. Satellite remote...

Neo-Assyrian Writing Boards: The Role of Beeswax, Orpiment, and Carbon Black in 7th Century BC Writing Techniques

13 April 2025

13 April 2025

Recent scientific investigations into the writing boards excavated from the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud have shed new light on...

A rare Pictish stone was found near the potential site of the famous Scottish battle that led to the creation of Scotland

7 March 2022

7 March 2022

A team of archaeologists has discovered a Pictish symbol stone close to the site of what is thought to have...

Urartian-Era Fortress with 50 Rooms Discovered at 3,000 Meters in Eastern Türkiye

5 August 2025

5 August 2025

Archaeologists uncover a massive high-altitude fortress believed to date back to the Iron Age, with ties to the ancient Urartian...