Spectacular new discoveries include a private spa

After being hidden under volcanic rock and ash for 2,000 years, a “once in a century” discovery has been made in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy.

Archaeologists have discovered a lavish private spa – possibly the largest ever found there – with hot, warm and cold rooms, exquisite artwork and a large pool of water.

The spa-like complex is at the heart of a large residence covered in a major excavation over the past two years.

“It’s these sites that are really part of the ‘Pompeii effect’ – it’s almost as if people were gone only a minute ago,” says Dr. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, who has exclusively disclosed the new discovery. BBC News.

Examination of the two skeletons found in the house also shows the horrors the inhabitants of Pompeii endured when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79.

The bodies belonged to a woman, between 35 and 50 years old, holding jewelry and coins, and a younger man in his teens or 20s.

There were barricades in a small room, but they died when the tsunami of superheated volcanic gas and ash – known as a pyroclastic flow – tore through the town.

“This is a dramatic place, and everything you find here speaks to you of the drama,” says Dr. Ludovica Alesse, Pompeii’s conservator.

A third of the ancient city is still hidden under volcanic debris from the disaster, but new excavations – the most extensive in a generation – are offering new insights into ancient Roman life.

Archaeologists have been followed by a BBC and Lion TV documentary team for a series called Pompeii: new excavation.

An entire block of Pompeii has now been discovered, including a laundry and a bakery, as well as a large private house. It is believed that these all belonged to a wealthy individual, perhaps Aulus Rustius Verus, an influential Pompeian politician.

The spa’s findings are further confirmation of its elite status, says Dr. Zuchtriegel.

“There are only a few houses with a private bath complex, so it was something for the richest of the rich,” he says. “And this is very large – it is probably the largest complex of baths in a private house in Pompeii.”

Those lucky enough to use the bath room would get dressed in a changing room with bright red walls and a mosaic floor splashed with geometric patterns inlaid with marble from across the Roman Empire.

Then they would go to the hot room, take a bath in a bath and enjoy the sauna-like warmth provided by a suspended floor that let hot air pass underneath and hollow walls that could circulate the heat.

Next, they would move into the warm, brightly painted room, where the oil would be rubbed into the skin before being scratched with a curved tool called a strigil.

Finally, they would enter the largest and most impressive room: the frigidarium or cold room. Surrounded by red columns and frescoes of athletes, a visitor could cool off in a pool that accommodates 20-30 people.

“In hot summers, you can sit with your feet in the water, chatting with your friends, maybe enjoying a glass of wine,” says Dr. Zuchtriegel.

The spa is the latest discovery from this extraordinary house.

A huge banquet hall was discovered last year, with black walls and unique artwork of classical scenes. They also found a smaller, more intimate room, painted blue, where the residents of the house went to pray to the gods.

The residence was in the middle of renovation – tools and building materials have been found. In the blue room there is a pile of oyster shells on the floor, ready to be ground up and applied to the walls to give them an iridescent glow.

Next to this beautiful space, in a narrow room with almost no decoration, a remarkable discovery was made: the remains of the two Pompeiians who did not escape the eruption.

The skeleton of a woman was found lying on a bed, curled up in the fetal position. A man’s body lay in the corner of this small room.

“The pyroclastic flow from Vesuvius was coming from the street outside this room, and a wall collapsed, which basically crushed him to death,” explained Dr. Sophie Hay, an archaeologist at Pompeii.

“The woman was still alive while she was dying – imagine the trauma – and then this room was filled with the rest of the pyroclastic flow, and that’s how she died.”

Analysis of the male skeleton showed that despite his young age, his bones showed signs of wear and tear, suggesting he was of lower status, perhaps even a slave.

The woman was older, but her bones and teeth were in good condition.

“He was probably someone higher up in society,” says Dr Hay. “It could have been the wife of the owner of the house, or maybe the helper to take care of the wife, we don’t know.”

Various items were found on a marble table in the room – glass bowls, bronze jugs and pottery – perhaps brought to the room where the pair had been kept to await the eruption.

But the items seized by the victims are of particular interest. The young man had some keys, while the old woman had gold and silver coins and jewelry.

These are kept in Pompeii’s vault, along with other priceless finds from the city, and we were given the opportunity to see them with archaeologist Alessandro Russo.

Gold coins still shine like new, and she shows us delicate gold and natural pearl earrings, necklace pendants and intricately engraved semi-precious stones.

“When we find this type of object, the distance between ancient times and modern times disappears,” says Dr. Russo, “and we can touch a small part of the lives of those people who died in the eruption.”

Dr Sophie Hay describes the private bathhouse as a once-in-a-century discovery that sheds light on a darker side of Roman life.

Behind the hot room is a boiler room. A pipe brought water from the street – some siphoned into the cold pool – and the rest was heated in a lead boiler destined for the hot room. The valves that regulated the flow look so modern, as if they could be turned on and off even today.

With a furnace sitting underneath, the conditions in this room would have been unbearably hot for the slaves who had to maintain the entire system.

“The most powerful thing about these excavations is the stark contrast between the lives of slaves and the very, very rich. And we see it here,” says Dr. Sophie Hay.

“The difference between the opulent lifestyle of the spa, compared to the furnace room, where slaves laboriously fed the fire all day.

“A wall is all that separates you between two different worlds.”

The excavation is in its final weeks, but new discoveries continue to emerge from the ashes. A limited number of visitors are allowed in while the borehole is being visited, but it will eventually be fully opened to the public.

“Every day here is a surprise,” says Dr. Anna Onesti, excavation director.

“Sometimes I come to work in the morning thinking it’s a normal day at work, and then I discover we’ve found something extraordinary.

“It is a magical moment for the life of Pompeii, and this excavation work offers us the opportunity to share it with the public.”