Archaeologists discover in Pompeii a room for slaves with adjustable beds

A room used by slaves, with adjustable beds, has been excavated by archaeologists in Civita Giuliana, a suburban village north of Pompeii that has been studied since 2017.

Covered like the rest of Pompeii by the ash expelled by Vesuvius in AD 79, this room for servants provides a rare vision of the daily reality of slaves, thanks to the and the possibility of making plaster casts of beds and other objects in perishable materials that have left their mark on the cinderella that covered the ancient structures, according to a statement from the excavations of Pompeii.

“It is a window into the precarious reality of people who rarely appear in historical sources, written almost exclusively by elite men”said the CEO of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, on a discovery that he described as “from his life as an archaeologist.

Pompeii was buried under ash when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, killing those who failed to leave the city in time.

The discovery itself took place not far from the portico where, in January 2021, a ceremonial cart was found that is currently undergoing consolidation and restoration work. Near the place where the precious vehicle was parked, and not far from the nearby barn excavated in 2018, a room has emerged that served d, including maintenance and for the repair of the car.

Indeed, inside the room, where three wooden beds have been found, a wooden chest was discovered containing metal and cloth objects, which appear to be parts of horse harnesses.

The beds are made of various roughly worked wooden boards that can be adjusted according to the height of the user. While two of them are around 1.7 meters long, one bed is only 1.4 meters and therefore there may be

The webbed bases of the beds were made of ropes, the footprints of which are partially discernible in the kinerita, and on which cloth blankets were placed and which have also been preserved as cavities in the floor and have been recreated using the plaster method.

Various personal items were found under the beds, including amphorae placed to store private belongings, ceramic jugs and a “chamber pot”. The room was lit by a small upper window and does not show

In addition to serving as a bedroom for a group of slaves, possibly a small family, as the presence of the child-sized bed would suggest, the room was also used for as evidenced by the eight amphorae huddled in the corners that were otherwise , is left free for this purpose only.

Archaeologists also found various personal items under the beds, including an amphora for personal belongings, ceramic jugs and what could be a chamber pot.

The room was, and there are no traces or decorations on the walls.

The excavation is part of a program launched in 2017 aimed at fighting illegal activity in the area, which includes digging tunnels to reach pieces that can be sold in illicit markets.

Agencies

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