Featured Image Credit: Photography by Jeremy Villasis. Philippines./Getty / Tony Jolliffe/BBC
A 'once-in-a-century' discovery has been made among the ruins of Pompeii, after archaeologists uncover a stunning bathhouse that is bigger than almost anything found before.
Pompeii's tragic history ensures that it's primed for discoveries, as archaeologists continue to search through the ruins of volcanic rock that laid the city to waste over 2,000 years ago in 79 AD.
While much has been found among the ancient city in the centuries following the disaster, a recent discovery led by a dig team might just be the biggest yet, as it uncovers so much more about the history of the city that was otherwise unknown.
As reported by the BBC, a staggeringly large bathhouse has been unearthed beneath meters of volcanic rock and ash in Pompeii, encompassing many rooms and even skeletal bodies that continue to illuminate our understanding of the time period.
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At the heart of it all is a multi-room bath complex that features hot, warm, and cold spas alongside exquisite artwork all across the walls.
One thing that appears to remain consistent among many Pompeii-based discoveries is the uncompromising level of preservation that somehow leaves areas like this intact despite being over 2,000 years old.
Dr Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii describes this phenomenon as the 'Pompeii effect', illustrating that "it's almost as if the people had only left a minute ago."
This isn't just limited to the buildings themselves either, as amongst the ruins archaeologists also found two skeletons that have seemingly preserved the last moments of two unfortunate individuals.
One is a woman who is estimated to be between 35 and 50 years old, and the other is a younger man around his teens or early 20s. The former can be seen curled up in a foetal position, clutching coins and jewelry, whereas the latter is on the other side cowering in a corner.
It's understood that the pair had barricaded themselves in the room, with the younger male likely a lower-class slave and the woman perhaps the owner of the house or a higher-class assistant.
Dr Sophie Hay, an archaeologist in Pompeii, describes the fate of the pair as follows:
"The pyroclastic flow of Vesuvius came along the street just outside this room, and caused a wall to collapse, and that had basically crushed him to death. The woman was still alive while he was dying - imagine the trauma - and then this room filled with the rest of the pyroclastic flow, and that's how she died."
Due to the nature of pyroclastic flow many of the artefacts within the room have been preserved as if nothing had ever happened, including the coins that the woman was clutching and a pair of gold and natural pearl earrings found close to her body.
What this major discovery also illuminates is the extreme disparity between higher and lower classes in Pompeii, as the luxury of the multi-room bathhouse is supported by a boiler room that would have been unbearable for the slaves operating it.
"The most powerful thing from these excavations is that stark contrast between the lives of the slaves and the very, very rich. And here we see it," explains Dr. Hay, continuing on to assert that "a wall is all that could divide you between two different worlds."
It goes to show that the luxury and awe of discoveries like these are more often than not underpinned by a darker reality that's often found nearby.
