Life-sized murals discovered on walls of Pompeii home buried by volcanic eruption nearly 2,000 years ago

POMPEII, Italy – In a city buried under feet of ash and debris from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, archaeologists have announced the discovery of ancient murals that shed light on the region’s mysteries.

According to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the frescoes feature life-sized depictions of women dancers in a procession honoring Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. 

The remarkable paintings were not easy to uncover, with archaeologists painstakingly digging by hand until they unearthed the residence, which has been nicknamed the "House of Thiasus." 

Researchers estimate the paintings date back to 40-30 B.C., meaning the works were about 100 years old when the volcano erupted.

"Both the frieze in the House of Thiasus and in the Villa of the Mysteries show a woman as suspended, as oscillating between these two extremes, two forms of the female being at the time," Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and co-author of a study on the new discovery, said in a statement. "These frescoes have a profoundly religious meaning which, however, was also designed to decorate areas for holding banquets and feasts … Behind these magnificent paintings, which play with illusion and reality, we can observe the signs of a religious crisis that was affecting the ancient world, but we can also grasp the grandeur of a ritual that dates back to an archaic world, at least until the second millennium BC, to the god Dionysus worshipped by the Mycenaeans and the Cretans, who was also known as Zagreus, lord of wild animals."

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With little warning, the stratovolcano erupted about 5 miles outside the Roman town during the first century, burying everything and everyone in its path.

 A mixture of mud, ash and debris acted like a layer of cement, asphyxiating victims and leading to an estimated death toll of about 2,000. 

Scientists believe the disaster unfolded after the top of Mount Vesuvius collapsed, sending a powerful pyroclastic flow through settlements such as Herculaneum, Oplontis, Pompeii and others. 

Centuries passed before the settlements were rediscovered, sparking eras of ongoing excavations.

Historians noted that excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum and other nearby sites have been happening for nearly 250 years, with no signs of slowing down.

"In 100 years, today will be seen as historic," Alessandro Giuli, Italy’s minister of culture, said in a statement. "Because the discovery we are showing is historic. The megalograph found in insula 10 of Regio IX provides another glimpse into the rituals of the mysteries of Dionysus. It is an exceptional historical document and, together with the fresco of the Villa of the Mysteries, constitutes a one-of-a-kind, making Pompeii an extraordinary testimony to an aspect of life in classical Mediterranean life that is largely unknown."

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Approximately a third of Pompeii still remains buried, with researchers still combing the impacted region inch by inch.

In addition to the fresco, archaeologists recently unveiled they uncovered multiple rooms, including a shrine, a reception area and an extensive bathhouse, which is believed to have been owned by a wealthy resident.

The Dionysiac scene at the house is already available to be viewed by the public, but visitors must purchase tickets for an available time slot.

To help protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the site limited daily visitor counts to just 20,000 starting in 2024.