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Pompeii wardrobe found untouched since 79CE holds keepsakes, coins, and two mice

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In short

Archaeologists exploring the Via dell’Abbondanza residence recovered an assortment of daily goods, including kitchen vessels, a bronze lamp, lead weights, and thirty-eight bronze coins stored inside a woven basket. The furniture also preserved cosmetic tools, a perfume bottle, and a collection of protective childhood amulets known as crepundia. Additionally, researchers gained insight into ancient domestic pests after finding over one hundred rodent bone fragments inside an amphora on the home's mezzanine level.

Key points

  • Roman parents used protective rattles known as crepundia to monitor children, with indivi…: Roman parents used protective rattles known as crepundia to monitor children, with individuals frequently keeping the trinkets into their adult years.
  • Fourth-style wall paintings suggest the House of Cornelius Maximus was an affluent reside…: Fourth-style wall paintings suggest the House of Cornelius Maximus was an affluent residence that was undergoing active renovations when Vesuvius erupted.
  • The diverse collection of preserved personal artifacts and biological remains provides va…: The diverse collection of preserved personal artifacts and biological remains provides valuable physical evidence regarding daily Roman home life and domestic pests.

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Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a wardrobe that no one opened again after Vesuvius buried the city in 79 CE. Thanks to the excavation data, the team could reconstruct the piece of furniture and its contents in full. It stood in House IX 11, 7, also known as the House of Cornelius Maximus, which faces Via dell’Abbondanza, one of the busiest streets in the ancient city.

The objects paint a picture of a woman’s daily life. Her grooming tools include tweezers and a small pestle for mixing makeup, plus a glass perfume bottle and an incense burner. A bronze lamp sat beside lead weights, which point to some kind of trade. The weights were stored in a small wooden box that has nearly rotted away. The shelves also held bronze, glass, and ceramic pots and pans. One fine little mug, decorated with pine cone scales, looks like more than a kitchen item.

The most personal find is a necklace of at least 24 tiny charms made of faience, bone, glass paste, and rock crystal. Each has a hole for hanging.…

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