17 September 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.

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

Archaeologists Unearth Rare Artifacts from the First Turkic Khaganate in the Altai Mountains

15 September 2025

15 September 2025

Archaeologists from Altai State University and their international colleagues have made a groundbreaking discovery in Russia’s Altai Republic, unearthing artifacts...

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

28 June 2024

28 June 2024

Astronomers from the University of Glasgow who specialize in studying tiny ripples in space-time have shed new light on the...

Rare 13th-Century Coin Hoard Discovered at Berlin’s Molkenmarkt Excavations

10 August 2025

10 August 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable treasure dating back to the 13th century during the ongoing excavations at Molkenmarkt, the historic...

Teacher unearthed stone with ancient ogham writing from Ireland in Coventry garden

9 May 2024

9 May 2024

A geography teacher, Graham Senior, stumbled across a rock with mysterious incisions while tidying his overgrown garden in Coventry, England. ...

Unique Lion-Headed Handles Unveiled from a Roman-Period Cist Tomb Near Khirbat Ibreika

30 April 2025

30 April 2025

Beneath the ancient dust of Khirbat Ibreika in southern Israel, archaeologists have unearthed an unexpected enigma: four bronze discs, each...

14,000 years old vessels made by Hunter-gatherers in Japan

1 May 2022

1 May 2022

The Late Pleistocene inhabitants of Tanegashima Island were making pottery about 14,000 years ago. In the Jomon period, people obtained...

A 2000-year-old Rare Artifact was Found Near Poltava

25 May 2021

25 May 2021

Scarab beetle pendant found near the Ukrainian city of Poltava. During the building of the H-31 motorway in the Poltava...

Recent Excavations Unveil Five Remarkable Statues, Shedding Light on Perge’s Roman Heritage

12 February 2025

12 February 2025

During the excavations in the ancient city of Perge in Antalya, one of the most organized Roman cities of Anatolia,...

In Turkey’s Zerzevan Castle, a badge bearing the US national symbol was discovered

4 October 2021

4 October 2021

Recent investigations have led to the discovery of a badge bearing the pattern of the Great Seal of the United...

4,500-Year-Old Idols Discovered at Tavşanlı Höyük in Western Anatolia

16 September 2025

16 September 2025

Archaeologists in Türkiye have uncovered a remarkable set of artifacts at Tavşanlı Höyük (Tavşanlı Mound), one of the largest Bronze...

Shetland Discoveries Seem Close to Uncovering Ancient Viking Capital

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

Important discoveries were made on the last day of excavations to find the ancient Viking capital of Shetland, through the...

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

30 March 2023

30 March 2023

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore,...

1600-Year-Old Rare Roman Glass Diatreta with Gladiator Scene Unearthed in Doclea, Montenegro

13 June 2025

13 June 2025

An extraordinary archaeological discovery has been made in the ancient Roman city of Doclea, located near Podgorica, Montenegro. During recent...

Torrential Rain Reveal 2500-Year-old Small Bull Statue

19 March 2021

19 March 2021

After heavy rains near the ancient Olympia site, a bronze bull statue of a bull believed to be at least...

Remains of the summer palace of Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hulagu Khan, found in eastern Turkey

7 July 2022

7 July 2022

The archeology study team, consisting of Turkish and Mongolian scientists, found important findings in the study carried out to find...