Ancient Roman Villa Discovered Near Pompeii

History, Travel 5 Minutes

(Header image: Mosaic uncovered at the Domus Aventino apartment block development. Source: Domus Aventino)

Rome is a place where many archaeological treasures and remains continue to be found. The latest discovery is a luxury villa with many remarkable artifacts and spectacular mosaics. This luxury Roman villa is providing us with new insights into how the elite in Rome lived up to 2000 years ago.

The villa — dubbed ‘Domus Aventino’ — is located at the foot of the Aventine Hill. A region of the city occupied by the regular citizenry (or ‘plebeians’) during the Roman republic, the area became home to the wealthy patricians in the time of the empire, when the villa would have been built. It was located close to the Circus Maximus, as well as a port on the River Tiber

From the discoveries made at this site, we can certainly say that the Roman elite lived in opulence. The domus was found at the foot of the famous Aventine Hill in central Rome in 2015. Originally, this hill was inhabited by poor people, but by the reign of Agustus was where the Roman elite, including senators, made their home, and it’s “not far from the Circus Maximus,” reports Wanted in Rome.


The Aventine Hill, where the Roman luxury villa was discovered in 2015, as seen from the Palatine Hill in central Rome. (Walter T Crane /Public Domain)

Ancient Luxury Roman Villa Found In The Heart of Modern Rome

The Roman luxury villa was uncovered, completely by chance, during the earthquake proofing of a 1950s building in central Rome. Archaeologists found a large villa that had been occupied for several generations at the foot of a modern condominium. Their work continued even while a new 180-apartment development rose-up around the archaeological site.

Forbes reports that “The dig revealed six different strata of historical remains, ranging from 8th century BC to 3rd century AD.” This time period stretches from the birth of Rome to the peak of Imperial Roman Power. Among the most important finds were the remains of an 8th century BC stone tower. The Daily Mail reports that “Excavations also revealed a defensive wall from the time of the Roman republic (509–27 BC).” These findings are helping researchers to better understand the topography of Rome in ancient times.

Remains of the upper-class Roman luxury villa unearthed by archaeologists in central Rome. (Domus Aventino)

Ancient Roman Villa: A Lavish Home Full Of Treasures

The ancient Roman villa, which would have been known as a domus, was once a sumptuous residence that included many artifacts and wonderful mosaics in its series of rooms. Based on this evidence, “archaeologists believe that the domus belonged to a ‘person of power’,” reports Wanted in Rome. The owners may have been members of the senatorial order because the villa was so luxurious. Daniela Porro, an archaeologist and official who works for the Italian capital, told Forbes that the family who lived here were “probably linked to the imperial family.”

Rome: An Archaeological Jewel At Every Level

Since its discovery in 2015, the archaeologists have unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts in this Roman luxury villa. Among the finds were a hammer, lamps, needles, hairpins, and lacquered bowls decorated with figures from Greek mythology. Also found was a vessel that contained garum fish sauce, which was a delicacy extremely popular with the Roman elite. These finds show that the Roman elite had a very high standard of living.

Though the remains of some great frescoes were also found in the villa, its mosaics are considered to be especially spectacular. The mosaic sections were laid down over a period of two hundred years, beginning in first century AD. The Daily Telegraph quoted Mr. Porro as saying that “Rome never ceases to surprise us. It’s an archaeological jewel.”


The frescoes and mosaics discovered in the ancient Roman villa are considered to be among the finest ever found. (Domus Aventino)

Spectacular Mosaics In The Luxury Villa Tell Us A Lot

The mosaics unearthed in the Roman luxury villa were made in the style known as “black and white” because they are almost entirely made from black and white stone cubes. They consist of thousands of tiny cube-shaped stones that are known as tesserae. Black and white mosaics were popular from the 1st century AD onward and have been found all over Italy and beyond. One of the villa’s black and white mosaics has a small section depicting a colorful green parrot. Another one shows a grapevine growing out of a pot.

One of the surface artworks found in the villa was very unusual. It consisted of a series of figure of eight patterns. Robert Narducci, who took part in the villa excavation process is quoted by the Daily Mail as stating that “We’ve not seen it before,” in reference to the figure of eight pattern. At least one of the black and white mosaics contains a Latin inscription. These mosaics would not have been laid down solely for decorative purposes: they were intended to express the splendor and power of the owner of the villa and his family to the wider community.

The Ancient Roman Luxury Villa Is Now An Underground Museum

The elite Roman luxury villa and its artworks have recently been turned into a subterranean museum. To reach the museum, visitors have to enter the newly built apartment complex and go down a staircase. Anselmo De Titta, a senior director with the company that owns the new apartment building told the Daily Mail that “It’s quite a challenge to allow access to the site while protecting the privacy of the condominium’s residents.”

Entrance to Villa

Video projections have been added to the museum’s attractions to enhance the experience. “The walls of the space now enclosing the villa are illuminated with video projections of a Roman senator and his wife walking amid marble busts and ornate furnishings,” according to the Daily Mail. Initially, the villa and its mosaics will be opened two days a month, but if they prove popular, the opening hours will be extended.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/luxury-roman-villa-0014369

Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

Published

199 thoughts on “Ancient Roman Villa Discovered Near Pompeii”

  1. Of course! Gotta censor the truth, don’t you!!??!!

    EXCERPT: “The United Nations’ Aids agency (UNAIDS) on Monday denounced some reporting on the monkeypox virus as racist and homophobic, warning irresponsible language was undermining the response to the outbreak as it gathers pace across the globe.

    UNAIDS said “a significant proportion” of recent monkeypox cases have been identified among “gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men” leading to some portrayals of Africans and LGBTI people gravely “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma.” The UNAIDS deputy executive director, Matthew Kavanagh, advised such talk should cease forthwith. He said:

    ‘Stigma and blame undermine trust and capacity to respond effectively during outbreaks like this one.

    Experience shows that stigmatising rhetoric can quickly disable evidence-based response by stoking cycles of fear, driving people away from health services, impeding efforts to identify cases and encouraging ineffective, punitive measures.’

    The agency further urged all media outlets covering Monkeypox to follow updates provided by the World Health Organization (W.H.O) while acknowledging the situation is “evolving and the surveillance expanding, it is expected that more monkeypox cases will be identified.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/health/2022/05/23/mind-your-language-u-n-scolds-homophobic-and-racist-monkeypox-coverage/

    Liked by 2 people

    1. wait a dang minute! I was told to wear a mask to “save my neighbor” during covid. I could unknowingly infect others. not that i complied–i’m a free thinking bastard that way.
      BUT you won’t ask gay men to refrain from THIS BEHAVIOR to save others? sounds hypocritical to me.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. copied from the cth…if this is “true” is this supposed to bolster their rep since they are getting hammered in the sussman trial? keeping info from the field agents that the alfa bank think is a load of crap–the russian hoax thing was crap…so now the eff bee eye “saved the day”…LOL

    BV Conservative
    BV Conservative
    May 24, 2022 3:10 pm

    Just read FBI supposedly broke up a plot by ISIS to assassinate GW Bush. Wondering if it is like the “kidnapping plot” it created for the MI governor. Why would ISIS care about Bush? His idiotic misadventures gave rise to ISIS, his Saudi buddies fund it, and he and the other neocons wanted to fight alongside ISIS in Syria to overthrow the government and kill Christians. Color me skeptical. I wonder if it has something to do with his relative running for office in TX.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Entire Article @ BB: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday announced the state’s “Hometown Heroes Initiative,” designed to help “hometown heroes” such as police officers and paramedics to purchase their first home by assisting with down payments and closing costs. The governor made the announcement during a press conference at the Cape Coral Police Department, detailing the $100 million program to assist with homeownership.

    “We want to make sure that those front line workers — people we consider to be hometown heroes — are able to not only work and serve the community but do so where they’re able to afford things like buying their first home,” DeSantis said

    “This is $100 million program that will provide down payment and closing cost assistance to more than 50 different professions when buying their first home,” he said, noting that it includes all sworn law enforcement officers, paramedics, firefighters, EMTs, 911 operators, correctional operators, probation, juvenile detention officers, teachers, child care operators and daycare instructors, registered nurses home health aides, as well as healthcare practitioners.

    “If you’re somebody that is here serving our community and those vital, vital roles, you now have the ability through our hometown heroes program to get assistance to be able to purchase that first home,” he said, adding that “all military veterans, all active duty service members who are moving to the state of Florida and all surviving spouses of deceased veterans” will also qualify for the program, regardless if they are a first time home buyer.

    DeSantis added that his administration’s continued support of first responders, including promoting signing bonuses for police officers and standing against defunding the police, really sends a signal that “this is the place to be for safe communities.”

    Video: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/05/23/florida-launches-initiative-to-assist-hometown-heroes-with-purchasing-first-home/

    Liked by 2 people

      1. I’m tellin’ ya’!!! That man can do no wrong, seems like! About as perfect a President as one could hope for, perhaps? It’s a toss up, tho, if he’s got Trump’s instinct for the kill.

        Liked by 2 people

  5. again from tcth…REALPOTUS’s truth social stuff…

    Citizen817
    May 24, 2022 3:04 pm

    President Trump “truthing” away today!

    Trump “Truth Social”

    3h
    The mainstream media spent 24/7 on the Russia Collusion Hoax and now that it has been fully debunked and discredited, they refuse to write anything about it. Their Pulitzer Prizes for coverage, which was totally incorrect, will be withdrawn!

    48m
    Dr. Oz seems to be in good shape in Pennsylvania, but REMEMBER, I endorsed him very late, many days AFTER Early Voting began, and it was then that he started to do really well, as he also did on Election Day. Had I endorsed him at the start of Early Voting (The USA should only have SAME DAY VOTING), it would have made a big difference! Regardless, should never take so long to count votes – already one week!

    46m
    Record turnout in the Great State of Georgia. Is that good for my endorsed candidates? Perhaps!!!

    12m
    Why are at least 3 Democrat Countries in Georgia allowed to stay open longer than the rest?

    Liked by 2 people

  6. EXCERPT: “A couple living in Wisconsin said they killed a bear when it attacked them inside their house on Friday, leaving them injured. The incident took place not long after the couple noticed the animal was eating from their bird feeder, the Associated Press (AP) reported Sunday.

    Officials with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened late that night at the residence near Medford, and according to the couple, the bear crashed through a window after they shouted at the animal to scare it away.

    “Both the husband and wife were injured before they were able to stab the bear with a kitchen knife. Eventually, the man was able to grab a firearm and kill the animal,” the AP article continued. A photo showed the bear lying on the floor in a hallway.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/local/2022/05/23/photo-couple-kills-bear-attack-wisconsin-home/

    Liked by 3 people

  7. i have to search for the article that makes the claim…but i read this morning that folks are starting to wonder about mueller…it took him $40 MILLION and how many months to NOT figure out that hitlery was behind the russia thing…not a single agent interviewed Mook who stated in court that hitlery personally approved the op…
    let’s question mueller and his henchmen–stick them on the hot seat…

    Liked by 3 people

  8. Cat accidentally becomes a god, goes viral!

    “Clyde, a fluffy white kitty, went viral on Twitter when his owner, Amanda Hyslop, posted a photo she’d taken of him. By chance, she’d managed to catch his reflection perfectly in the window while photographing clouds, making it appear that the cloud-like cat had ascended to his rightful throne in the sky. “Took a pic of the cat lookin’ out the window and accidentally turned him into some sort of god,” she tweeted. People loved Clyde’s regal pose. He hasn’t let the 1.5 million likes go to his head, though, as Hyslop showed in a second picture of him lounging on his back in the sun.”

    Parrots put in time-out for cursing!

    “Five African grey parrots—Billy, Eric, Tyson, Jade, and Elsie—recently had to be separated for “encouraging each other to swear” at patrons at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Center in the U.K. “We are quite used to parrots swearing, but we’ve never had five at the same time, and for some reason these five relish it,” Steve Nichols, the zoo’s chief executive, told the AP. People were mainly entertained by the potty-mouthed parrots. “When a parrot tells you to ‘f— off,’ it amuses people very highly; it’s brought a big smile to a really hard year,” he said. But for the sake of children, the zoo decided it was best to put the birds in separate enclosures until they can behave. Fun fact: Former U.S. president Andrew Jackson kept an obscene parrot as a pet!”

    Cat vs. Monk: Who will break first?

    “A Thai Buddhist monk was just trying to say the (five-hour-long) prayer for New Year’s when one of the temple cats decided it needed attention right then. The orange kitty crawled all over the monk as he tried desperately not to lose concentration, delighting viewers all over the world watching this interaction stream on Facebook. The cat would not be ignored and climbed up the monk’s robe, kneaded his shoulder, and then blocked his scripture book so he would have no choice. Finally, the monk relented and gave it some pets and scritches. Respect for all living beings is a key tenet of Buddhism, and the monk later said he has a soft spot for the “fat and pampered” temple cats.”

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Toad steals shoe, woman’s heart!

    “Jabba the toad first claimed Sita Hood’s old running shoe as her home last year, catching flies by day and lounging in comfort by night. At first, Hood thought it was a fluke and assumed the toad would hop away over the next day or two. Jabba ended up staying the entire summer before going somewhere else to hibernate. It was a cute story, but Hood was in for a big surprise when Jabba returned the following spring and jumped back into her old shoe. Hood says it’s no longer her shoe anymore but Jabba’s home. She even made a sign for the amphibian so people wouldn’t accidentally dump her out. “Donating my shoe was no big deal,” Hood told the Dodo. “If it afforded her comfort or protection, why not?”

    Octopus shakes rescuer’s hand:

    “An Egyptian couple found an octopus stranded on a beach and decided to move it back to deeper waters. It looked near death, and they were worried about their new friend, so they went back to check on it the next day, only to discover it was alive and well. Perhaps the octopus had been looking for them, too, because for the next hour, it followed them along the beach, occasionally reaching out a tentacle to “shake hands” (or high-one?). After appropriately thanking its rescuers, it headed back out to sea.”

    Monkeying around with a cell phone!

    “Zackrydz Rodzi, a 20-year-old Malaysian man, plugged in his phone before going to sleep only to find the device missing the next morning. There were no signs of a break-in, and he had no idea who could have taken it. After his father mentioned that he had seen a monkey hanging around nearby, Rodzi searched the forest behind his house and found the phone buried in some mud. His uncle joked that maybe the monkey just wanted to take some selfies, so Rodzi checked the photo gallery. “I was shocked. The suspect’s face was plastered on the screen. It was hilarious,” he told the AP. No word on whether the ape mastered the “fish lips” pout or how to work his angles.”

    Who’s your new buddy? Oh, wait…

    “In a charming-turned-alarming video posted on social media, Zabelê, a Blue Heeler, brings a new friend over to play. From a distance, it appears to be a black Lab, but as the pair approaches, it becomes clear it is a jaguar. The two have actually been friends for a while, with Zabelê acting as a nanny of sorts to Luna, starting when she was a tiny kitten brought to the Instituto Onça-Pintada Reserve in Brazil, explains biologist Leandro Silveira. The pair bonded, and the doggo takes care of the jaguar—now much larger than herself—as if she were her own baby.”

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Yes I did see Pompeii years ago.
        They have casts of the people who passed away. And you could walk around the area.

        We got to climb Mount Vesuvius and what’s funny is you can feel small earthquakes when your sleeping.

        Liked by 3 people

              1. I would say yes. I knew we were doing stuff other people didn’t do travel wise.
                I mean for example we were on an African safari and I was 6 Or 7 i think. The other people were worried because again a child on safari

                But I was well behaved and I got to sit up front on the van. They liked seeing the items I pointed out that they didn’t see.

                Liked by 2 people

  12. oh my!
    14 kids, teacher dead after murder suspect fleeing police enter a Texas school and starts shooting…they caught the suspect i believe…

    Liked by 1 person

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