Archaeologists uncover mysterious 'blue room' in Pompeii

Archaeology mag ^ | June 11, 2024 | Dario Radley

[Gay State Conservative]

later

[Gay State Conservative]

I spent a day in Pompeii many years ago.It was an amazing experience despite the fact that I got the worst sunburn of my life that day (it was July).I’d love to go back....in March or October...and visit Herculaneum as well.

[Verginius Rufus]

Yes, definitely need to go to the archaeological museum in Naples to see a lot of the objects found at Pompeii. The time I visited, the room with the Alexander mosaic was closed.

Ostia antica, near Rome, is also very worth visiting--like Pompeii without the crowds.

[Texan5]

Thanks! Never heard that brfore...

[Sawdring]

This kills the theory that the ancients didn’t see the color blue.

[Adder]

Yes...Ostia is on my list for the next trip..I had not realized it was accessible by train from Rome.

[Irish Eyes]

Make sure to pay for a tour. Without that it becomes a pile of rocks like many archeological sites if you don’t get the context.

I agree a tour with a good guide is a must. It kind of makes you feel like you where there so many years ago. Pompeii is a must see.

[SunkenCiv]

Since that wasn't the theory, no it doesn't.

• Why The Ancient Greeks Couldn't See Blue [6:39] [04/02/2024]

[Jamestown1630]

Despite all the arguments below, I think the notion that they couldn’t see blue came originally from a phrase in Homer;that was hundreds of years before the destruction of Pompeii, and we don’t know when the ‘blue room’ was painted.

I don’t know if they saw ‘blue’ or not; but my Bolivian friend calls my obviously green eyes ‘azul’...

[Albion Wilde]

How beautiful. Pompeii must have been a very highly aesthetic society, as Italy has remained, in fact. I wish I could go back again and see the very many things that have been uncovered in the past 30 years since I was there the second time. Maybe not go in the scorching summer, now that I’m a geezer.

[SunkenCiv]

:^) If I wind up going to Italy, I could take a plane flight over, but would have to come back by boat, due to the food available in Florence, Rome, and Naples. :^)

[mass55th]

"Anyone that likes Roman history needs to add this to a bucket list."

It was one of the places, along with Herculaneum that I would have liked to have visited. Too old now to get around, so I settle for British-made documentary series on them. Recently watched a program titled "The Lost Scrolls of Vesuvius", which aired in mid-May. It featured the use of AI to virtually unwrap the carbonized scrolls found at the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. The TV program was presented by British Archaeologist Dr. Alice Roberts, and featured computer scientist Dr. Brent Seales of the University of Kentucky who has been working on this project for many years.

[mass55th]

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

I did a search and found this:

"Blue was imported to Pompeii from Egypt. In keeping with its origins, it was originally called ‘Egyptian blue’, but was later known as ‘Pompeian blue’. It was an absolute luxury – and had been used to decorate walls in ancient Egypt since at least 2,500 B.C. Even then, prices were determined by supply and demand; in Pompeii, blue was so highly sought after that its price sometimes even surpassed that of the astronomically expensive purple."

Egyptian blue information:

Ancient Egyptian Blue: How the World’s First Synthetic Pigment Is Producing Tomorrow’s Brave—and Colorful–New World

[Jamestown1630]

Not sure this has been mentioned, but there’s also ‘tekhelet’:

https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-israel-blue-20180910-htmlstory.html

[mass55th]

Thanks for the link!!

[Verginius Rufus]

Yes, Ostia is an easy train ride from Rome. Most passengers are headed for the beach but you will need to get off the stop before. The entrance to the site is maybe 100 yards from the train stop.

[dfwgator]

I have a blue house
With a blue window
Blue is the colour of all that I wear
Blue are the streets
And all the trees are too
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue
Blue are the people here
That walk around
Blue like my corvette its in and outside
Blue are the words I say
And what I think
Blue are the feelings
That live inside me

I’m blue
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di

[Red Badger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHLLgVUFrI

[Albion Wilde]

Not sure I understand — would the boat trip help you avoid the tempting food, or do you anticipate that a boat trip would include those three distinctly different cuisines? If you want them, I say rent a car and drive up from Pompeii through Napoli and Roma to Firenze and fly home from there. Or, you could skip Rome, since it is congested and expensive, and go to Siena in between Naples and Genoa.

[reasonisfaith]

I wasn’t trying to cause you to have an emotional reaction.