Slave quarters discovered in Pompeii's Civita Giuliana villa

A room used by slaves has been unearthed in the villa of Civita Giuliana near Pompeii, adding to recent major finds including a ceremonial chariot and a semi-mummified body. The 16-square-meter space, preserved by the 79 AD eruption, contained three wooden beds (one only 1.40 m long, likely for a child), eight amphorae, a wooden chest with metal and fabric objects, and a chariot tiller. The beds had rope nets and fabric blankets, preserved as cavities in the ash and recovered through casting. Personal items included ceramic pitchers and a chamber pot. The room had a small high window and no wall decorations. Director General Gabriel Zuchtriegel called it "a window into the precarious reality of people who rarely appear in historical sources." Culture Minister Dario Franceschini highlighted that Pompeii is now a site of research and new technologies. The excavation is part of a collaboration between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the Torre Annunziata Prosecutor's Office, and the Carabinieri to combat looting, which had caused an estimated €2 million loss in the villa alone. Massimo Osanna, General Director of Museums, noted that the study will provide data on slave living conditions.