New frescoes unearthed in villa near Pompeii show ‘extraordinary details and colours’

Archeologists found a near complete peahen fresco, missing its head, and mirroring a previously found peacock fresco. (Pompeii Archeological Park / X)

ROME -- New frescoes with “extraordinary details and colours” and new rooms have been unearthed in a villa on the suburbs of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, the archeological park said on Thursday.

The discoveries were made at the Villa Poppaea in Oplontis, a large residence dating from the mid-first century B.C. that may have belonged to Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of Emperor Nero, or to her family.

Archeologists found a near complete peahen fresco, missing its head, and mirroring a previously found peacock fresco, as well as fragments of a theatrical comedy mask, complementing other theatrical tragedy masks from the same hall.

The excavations also revealed the imprint of trees in the villa’s garden, left by lava casts, and four rooms, adding to the 99 already excavated, including one thought to have been part of the villa’s thermal baths.

The discoveries “offer promising new research prospects for understanding the layout of the villa and studying long-term interactions between human settlers and the natural environment,” park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said.

The once-thriving city of Pompeii, near Naples, and its surroundings were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, but its remains have survived after being submerged for centuries by a thick blanket of ash and lava.

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi and Alvise Armellini, editing by Alex Richardson)