Pompeii climate work discovers stunning black banquet hall, with paintings of Trojan heroes

A fresco depicting the Greek mythology’s figures Cassandra, right, a cursed prophetess, and Apollo, God of oracles and knowledge, inside an imposing banquet hall, with elegant black walls. Photo / Italian Culture Ministry via AP, HO

Archaeologists excavating new sites in Pompeii have uncovered a sumptuous banquet hall decorated with intricately frescoed mythological characters inspired by the Trojan War, officials said Thursday.

The hall, which features a mosaic floor, was uncovered as part of a project to shore up the areas dividing the excavated and unexcavated parts of Pompeii, the ancient city near Naples that was destroyed in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

The banquet hall was used for refined entertaining and features black walls, a technique that prevented the smoke from oil lamps from being seen, said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological park.

This image released by the Italian Culture Ministry on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, shows, a banquet hall, with elegant black walls, decorated with mythological subjects inspired by the Trojan War, recently unhearted in the Pompeii archaeological area near Naples in southern Italy. Photo / Italian Culture Ministry via AP, HO

The figures painted against that black backdrop include Helen of Troy and Apollo. Experts said the reference to mythological figures was designed to entertain guests and provide conversation starters.

The room, which is about 15 meters long and 6 meters wide, opens onto a courtyard near a staircase leading to the first floor of the home, the park said in a press release.

Excavations in Pompeii have recently focused on areas of the city where the middle classes and servants lived, while previous ones have concentrated on the elaborately frescoed villas of Pompeii’s upper classes.

Helen and Paris of Troy, inside an banquet hall, recently unhearted in the Pompeii archaeological area. Photo / Italian Culture Ministry via AP, HO

Part of the frescoes inside the banquet hall, recently unhearted in Pompeii, Italy. Photo / Italian Culture Ministry via AP, HO

The excavations that yielded the new banquet hall are designed to improve the hydrogeological structure of the entire park, to make it more sustainable as the region copes with climate extremes — heavy rainfall and intense heat — that are threatening the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

- Associated Press