The lives of the ancient Romans might seem impossibly different from our own today, but newly discovered graffiti shows that some things never change.
Archaeologists have discovered 79 previously unseen pieces of graffiti scratched into the walls of an alley in Pompeii that might have doubled as a public urinal.
Covering everything from love to bowel movements, these 2,000–year–old messages wouldn’t look out of place in a pub bathroom today.
The archaeologists even found one message referencing a very rude tale about sex.
The ancient doodles were found in Pompeii’s Theatre Corridor, a narrow space that connected the city’s two theatres and offered citizens a sheltered place to hang out.
One tantalising fragment writes ‘Erato Amat…’, which translates to: ‘Erato loves…’.
Although we know that Erato was a common name for female slaves and freedwomen, the name of their lover has unfortunately been lost to time.
Meanwhile, one far bawdier piece of graffiti tells the story of a sex worker named Tyche, who was taken ‘to this place’ and paid for sex with three men.
Scientists have uncovered 79 previously unseen pieces of 2,000–year–old graffiti in Pompeii’s Theatre Corridor, including one that tells the story of a sex worker named Tyche, who was taken ‘to this place’ and paid for sex with three men
One message reads ‘Erato loves…’ before the plaster is too damaged to read more. Although we know that Erato was a common name for female slaves or freedwomen, we will never know who Erato’s mysterious lover was
The so–called Theatre Corridor is a 27–metre–long and 3–metre–wide alleyway that offered theatre–goers much–needed respite from bad weather in winter and the hot sun in summer.
Traces of guttering running down one side of the corridor suggest that it might have also doubled as an open–air urinal.
Archaeologists first spotted the traces of graffiti when the alley was excavated in 1794, but new technology has allowed archaeologists to find drawings previously invisible to the naked eye.
In a new paper, researchers from the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Quebec used a technique called Reflectance Transformation Imaging.
They used a special camera setup to shine bright lights at the wall from multiple angles, allowing a computer program to pick up tiny details too fine to see.
In total, they detailed over 300 pieces of graffiti in the Theatre Corridor, including 79 that had never been seen before.
Some of those, like the one written by the mysterious Erato, are messages from lovers.
One piece of graffiti, perhaps written by someone rushing out of the theatre, reads: ‘I’m in a hurry; take care, my Sava, make sure you love me!’.
Another piece of graffiti depicts a surprisingly detailed drawing of two gladiators fighting in their armour
Another, more poetic, piece of writing says: ‘Methe, slave of Cominia, of Atella, loves Cresto in her heart. May the Venus of Pompeii be favourable to both of them and may they always live in harmony.’
However, like the graffiti in any modern city, not all the messages were quite so charming.
One particularly baffling message reads: ‘Miccio, your father ruptured his belly when he was defecating; look at how he is Miccio!’
Oddly, the name Miccio was also found carved into the plaster four times in a small area of the alley.
Meanwhile, some of the scratchings present drawings ranging from crude doodles to highly detailed illustrations.
In one part of the alley, the archaeologists found an impressive drawing of two gladiators locked in combat.
While part of one gladiator is missing where the plaster has crumbled, the sketch clearly shows the fighters’ weapons, armour, and shields with surprising accuracy.
According to the authors, the unique poses of these warriors suggest that the mystery artist may have actually seen a gladiator fight and was drawing a scene from memory.
In some places, layers of graffiti have been carved over each other throughout the years. Pompeii is now believed to be home to over 10,000 such messages
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the Director of the Park of Pompeii, says: ‘Technology is the key that is shedding new light on the ancient world and we need to inform the public of these new discoveries.’
These findings add to the 10,000 messages and designs that have been found carved or drawn on the walls throughout Pompeii.
These include everything from election slogans and encouragements to vote to crude drawings of phalluses and random geometric patterns.
Since these doodles were drawn by ordinary people rather than professional artists working for the rich, they offer a unique view into the daily life of Pompeii.
One piece of graffiti has even helped archaeologists pinpoint the exact day that Mount Vesuvius erupted.
A message, believed to have been left by a builder, noted that they ‘had a great meal’ on the 16th day before the ‘Calends’ of November, meaning October 17.
However, archaeologists had previously dated the city’s construction to August 24, almost two months before this builder enjoyed their lovely lunch.
This supports the idea that medieval historians mixed up October and August, putting the real date of the eruption on October 24.
Researchers from the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Quebec used a technique called Reflectance Transformation Imaging to find traces that had been invisible to the naked eye
This is not the first time archaeologists have found Roman graffiti. Near Hadrian’s Wall, researchers have discovered a large phallus and an inscription which brands a Roman soldier called Secundinus a ‘s***ter’
But Pompeii is not the only place in the Ancient Roman world where archaeologists have found graffiti.
Researchers excavating the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which formed part of Hadrian’s Wall, found an exceptionally rude carving.
The inscription depicted a large phallus and announced that someone called Secundinus was ‘a sh***er’.
Engravings of phalluses are not uncommon on Hadrian’s Wall, with a total of 13 now found at the historic site.
How Pompeii and Herculaneum were wiped off the map by devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago
What happened?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is thought to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
Every single resident died instantly when the southern Italian town was hit by a 500°C pyroclastic hot surge.
Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic materials that flow down the side of an erupting volcano at high speed.
They are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of around 450mph (700 km/h), and at temperatures of 1,000°C.
An administrator and poet called Pliny the younger watched the disaster unfold from a distance.
Letters describing what he saw were found in the 16th century.
His writing suggests that the eruption caught the residents of Pompeii unaware.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow
He said that a column of smoke ‘like an umbrella pine’ rose from the volcano and made the towns around it as black as night.
People ran for their lives with torches, screaming and some wept as rain of ash and pumice fell for several hours.
While the eruption lasted for around 24 hours, the first pyroclastic surges began at midnight, causing the volcano’s column to collapse.
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas rushed down the side of the volcano at 124mph (199kph), burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewelry and money, were killed instantly.
The Orto dei fuggiaschi (The garden of the Fugitives) shows the 13 bodies of victims who were buried by the ashes as they attempted to flee Pompeii during the 79 AD eruption of the Vesuvius volcano
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered by blankets of the surge.
While Pliny did not estimate how many people died, the event was said to be ‘exceptional’ and the number of deaths is thought to exceed 10,000.
What have they found?
This event ended the life of the cities but at the same time preserved them until rediscovery by archaeologists nearly 1700 years later.
The excavation of Pompeii, the industrial hub of the region and Herculaneum, a small beach resort, has given unparalleled insight into Roman life.
Archaeologists are continually uncovering more from the ash-covered city.
In May archaeologists uncovered an alleyway of grand houses, with balconies left mostly intact and still in their original hues.
A plaster cast of a dog, from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii, AD 79. Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day
Some of the balconies even had amphorae – the conical-shaped terra cotta vases that were used to hold wine and oil in ancient Roman times.
The discovery has been hailed as a ‘complete novelty’ – and the Italian Culture Ministry hopes they can be restored and opened to the public.
Upper stores have seldom been found among the ruins of the ancient town, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius volcano and buried under up to six meters of ash and volcanic rubble.
Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day.
