“More important than statue”: slave chambers revealed

So two different types of beds were found: one very simple and without a mattress, the other more comfortable. There were also two small boxes in the room.

“More insightful than beautiful image”
It is, in a sense, a discovery “that is more important and sheds more light on ancient life than a fine statue,” Pompeii’s German museum director, Gabriel Breeding, wrote on Twitter.

The simple bed form had also been found in another slave room discovered in 2021. Archaeologists assume that this room served as accommodation for the slaves and was also used as a storeroom.

At least three rodents lived in the room
Further work on the ceramic vessels and amphorae found there has now revealed the precarious and unsanitary conditions under which people lived there, according to Sunday’s statement. Accordingly, at least three rodents lived in the room. A rat in a jar under a bed was apparently trying to escape when it too died in what’s known as a pyroclastic flow.

Video: The slave room at Pompeii

Pompeii and its inhabitants were buried in ash, mud and lava when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. As a result, the city was partially preserved. Pompeii was rediscovered in the 18th century.

The excavation site is one of the most popular sights in Italy, there are always sensational finds. To reconstruct the slave chamber, the time-tested method of filling empty spaces left by organic matter in the solidified volcanic ash with gypsum was used.