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A group of archaeologists excavating the doomed city of Pompeii found quite the surprise earlier this week: a banquet hall complete with paintings inspired by the Trojan War. The discovery was announced earlier this week, The Associated Press noted. The banquet hall and its mosaic floor were uncovered during a project to help prevent further demise of the ruins of Pompeii.

Nearly 2,000 years since it was buried by volcanic rubble, the lost city of Pompeii is yielding even more astonishing discoveries.Archeologists have uncovered remarkably preserved 'fresco' paintings on a wall at a former private residence along Via di Nola, one of Pompeii's longest streets.One of the stunning artworks depicts Helen of Troy, a beautiful woman in Greek mythology, meeting Paris, prince of Troy, for the first time...The frescos have been discovered in the 'black room', an 'imposing' banquet hall with elegant black walls at a former private residence along Via di Nola.It's being called the black room because it was...

Archaeologists excavating a house adjacent to the House of Leda in Insula 6, Regio V, in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have unearthed a fresco depicting the Greek mythological siblings Phrixus and Helle (also known as Ellie).Still astonishingly colorful some 2,000 years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped out the city, the frescoes were unearthed during restoration work around the mansion of the House of Leda.The director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, described the discovery as a poignant reflection of history unfolding.The unearthed fresco depicts two refugees at sea from ancient Greece, Phrixus and Elle, brother and...

Archaeologists have unearthed a sensual fresco depicting the Ancient Greek myth of Leda and the Swan on a bedroom wall in Pompeii. While the story might not appeal to modern sensibilities, the legend that Leda, the beautiful queen of Sparta, was seduced – or raped, depending on how you see it – by the king of the gods disguised as a swan was apparently a titillating subject for Ancient Romans. In an astonishingly well preserved fresco revealed to the public this week, the moment is depicted as a non-violent encounter: Leda reclines languidly, gazing directly at the viewer, as the...

The remains of five people, probably two women and three children, were found in a bedroom in Pompeii on Wednesday. The group probably took refuge in the bedroom in a desperate attempt to escape a shower of volcanic rocks that had filled the house, Pompeii director Massimo Osanna told ANSA. "It's a shocking discovery, but also very important for the history of studies," Osanna said. The skeletons were found in a house where a charcoal inscription was recently found backing the theory that the Mount Vesuvius eruption that destroyed the ancient Roman city took place in October of 79 AD,...