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Archaeologists uncover mysterious 'blue room' in Pompeii
Archaeology mag ^ | June 11, 2024 | Dario Radley

Posted on 06/11/2024 11:47:02 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

Recent excavations in Pompeii have uncovered a remarkable room with walls painted in a vivid, sky-blue hue, a color seldom seen in Pompeian ruins.

This room, discovered in the Insula 10 area of Regio IX, is thought to have served as a sacrarium, a space dedicated to pagan rituals and the preservation of sacred objects.

The walls of this 8-square-meter room, known as Room 32, are adorned with frescoes in the Fourth Style, characterized by its intricate and narrative aesthetic...

The sacrarium's walls are painted a brilliant sky blue, a color rarely seen in Pompeian frescoes and typically reserved for spaces of great significance. The blue backdrop is complemented by red-lined niches, where statues and other devotional objects likely stood.

The frescoes depict female figures representing the four seasons, agriculture, and shepherding. These figures are adorned with crowns of flowers, flowing garments, and in some cases, depicted without clothes, adding to the room's mystical aura...

Among the discoveries were 15 amphorae, two jugs, two lamps, and three decorative boxes embedded in the walls that likely held devotional statues. Building materials such as piles of oyster shells, intended to be mixed with plaster and mortar, indicate that the house was undergoing renovations at the time of the eruption...

This discovery aligns with the broader context of Roman literature and art, where the pastoral and agrarian themes often symbolized a nostalgic return to simpler times. Works like Virgil's "Georgics" and "Eclogues" celebrated the rural idyll while acknowledging the tension between the idyllic past and the realities of contemporary Roman life. The room's decorations may reflect this cultural ambivalence, embodying both reverence for agricultural deities and a longing for the lost simplicity of rural life.

(Excerpt) Read more at archaeologymag.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: fauxiantroll; fauxiantrolls; godsgravesglyphs; insula10; pompeii; regioix; romanempire; vesuvius; virgil
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To: SunkenCiv

Oh you need to go...so awesome! There and the museum in Naples that houses much of the excavated art like the mosaic of Alexander fighting Darius III...from just about every Roman history boon you ever saw...

To actually see it and walk the streets...

I hope you can get there...


21 posted on 06/11/2024 12:22:24 PM PDT by Adder (End fascism...defeat all Democrats.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Roman fern bar?


22 posted on 06/11/2024 12:26:36 PM PDT by RitchieAprile (available monkeys looking for the change..)
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To: SunkenCiv

Thank you for the interesting post-I went to the article to see all the photos-the walls of the room are beautiful with the blue background. Peaceful color for a place used for worship.


23 posted on 06/11/2024 12:28:56 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: reasonisfaith

If Satanism has anything to do with an article and photos of a beautiful archaeological site, I’m not seeing it-or why it matters...


24 posted on 06/11/2024 12:32:58 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: Jamestown1630

I heard about the blue ceilings as a kid from a great aunt who lived in Mississippi as a child-I have no idea if it is true or not, but it does make sense in a world before insect spray...


25 posted on 06/11/2024 12:36:48 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: Texan5

The whole blue thing may have come from African Americans, especially the Gullah. They called it ‘haint blue’, and often also painted their doors that color, to keep bad spirits away.

Maybe distracting bugs was an extra benefit?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haint_blue


26 posted on 06/11/2024 12:42:37 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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The rest of the Pompeii keyword, sorted:

27 posted on 06/11/2024 12:47:45 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: reasonisfaith

No, you weren’t. You’re just a troll.


28 posted on 06/11/2024 12:49:08 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Jamestown1630

Thanks J!


29 posted on 06/11/2024 12:49:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Texan5

Thanks T!


30 posted on 06/11/2024 12:50:13 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Texan5

Finding a durable blue for decoration was a challenge, so it tended to be expensive, and for archaeologists more rare to find.


31 posted on 06/11/2024 12:52:17 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv

PAGANISM.....the REAL REASON POMPEII WAS DESTROYED!


32 posted on 06/11/2024 12:53:09 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Ann Archy

That also explains why Harry Truman, one of the few (or perhaps the only) remaining resident near Mount St Helens, was destroyed. /sarc


33 posted on 06/11/2024 12:54:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Ann Archy

Oh good grief.


34 posted on 06/11/2024 12:56:16 PM PDT by Fuzz
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To: SunkenCiv

The Epstein Room complete with lubricant dispenser wall niche.


35 posted on 06/11/2024 12:58:16 PM PDT by Gaffer
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To: SunkenCiv

LOL!

I had to look that up.

R.I.P. Harry


36 posted on 06/11/2024 12:59:44 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: JZelle

I think vomitoria should be standard in all homes, in case one should accidentally switch to CNN or MSNBC.


37 posted on 06/11/2024 1:03:32 PM PDT by Savage Beast (If they can do it to him, they can do it to us.)
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To: Jamestown1630; Macho MAGA Man
Gee I've never seen that in my entire life.

I have seen doors painted hant blue.

38 posted on 06/11/2024 1:07:41 PM PDT by Savage Beast (If they can do it to him, they can do it to us.)
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To: Texan5

I think it’s beautiful. Reminds me of the Sistine Chapel, which is gorgeous.


39 posted on 06/11/2024 1:10:51 PM PDT by Savage Beast (If they can do it to him, they can do it to us.)
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To: Savage Beast

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haint_blue


40 posted on 06/11/2024 1:11:15 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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