“Blue Room” with frescoes discovered during the Pompeii excavations

The room was probably a sacrariumor a sanctuary where ancient Romans kept sacred objects and worshiped household deities.

Thousands of years after Pompeii was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius, the ancient Roman city continues to hold breathtaking treasures. The latest one is a sacrariumor sanctuary, painted a charming shade of blue.

The room was probably used for ritual activities or to store sacred objects. And it is filled with delicate ancient frescoes preserved for 2,000 years.

Discovering the “Blue Room” in Pompeii

According to a statement from the Pompeii Archaeological Park, the room was first documented during the Bourbon period (1814 to 1830), but recent excavations have uncovered the room and its furnishings.

It is located in the Regio IX district of Pompeii, which is part of a island (complex) comprising bathing buildings and a large black reception room overlooking a courtyard. The blue room stands out though.

The piece is painted in a shade of blue that “rarely appears in Pompeian frescoes,” according to the release, and “was typically used for ornately decorated rooms.” It was probably a sacrarium or “a shrine devoted to ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects.”

A number of frescoes line the blue walls, including female figures representing the Hoursor the four seasons, and allegorical scenes of agriculture and sheep breeding, including a representation of a plow and a stick called a pedum. There is even a fresco depicting a large spotted cat.

Recent excavations have also revealed other furnishings from the house, including 15 “transport amphorae” found in the room, alongside two bronze jugs and two bronze lamps. Archaeologists also found piles of empty oyster shells at the threshold of the room, which were likely intended to be crushed for use in mortar and plaster.

“Pompeii never ceases to amaze; it is a treasure still partly unexplored,” remarked Gennaro Sangiuliano, the Italian Minister of Culture. “It is for this reason that we have financed the new excavations and are working to maintain the high quality of the archaeological park.”

Indeed, the “blue room” is just one of many recent discoveries in Pompeii.

Other “treasures” recently discovered in Pompeii

Pompeii yielded many treasures this year alone. In April, the Pompeii Archaeological Park announced the discovery of a banquet hall in one of Pompeii’s most opulent villas. It included a number of breathtaking frescoes, including those depicting scenes from the Trojan War.

The following month, in May, the Pompeii Archaeological Park announced two more incredible discoveries: a complex including a restaurant and carpet-making workshop, and charcoal graffiti drawn by children just before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that depicted battles bloody gladiators.

All of these discoveries add to our understanding of Pompeii, the doomed ancient city lost in a cloud of ash and toxic gases. Spaces like the “Blue Room” are visceral representations of what the people of Pompeii saw and experienced in their daily lives, making this discovery particularly astonishing.

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After reading about the Blue Room discovered in Pompeii, browse these distressing photos of bodies from Pompeii frozen in time since Mount Vesuvius erupted and the city was destroyed. Or see how this graffiti from Pompeii shows how raunchy the ancient Romans could be.