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Pompeii Cupboard Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Life
29 Oct
Summary
- A sealed cupboard in Pompeii revealed personal items from 2,000 years ago.
- Artifacts include makeup, perfume, coins, and childhood amulets.
- The finds offer a glimpse into daily life before Mount Vesuvius erupted.
An ancient cupboard, sealed for almost two millennia, has been discovered in Pompeii, providing a rare snapshot of personal life before the AD 79 volcanic eruption. The cupboard, found in a house on Via dell'Abbondanza, contained a variety of intimate objects. Among the most significant finds is a necklace composed of at least 24 tiny amulets made from bone, glass paste, earthenware, and rock crystal. These crepundia, traditionally given to Roman children for protection and as rattles, were kept as mementos.
Other discovered items paint a picture of daily routines and commerce. These include tweezers, a small perfume bottle, incense burner, various vessels, lead weights suggesting trade activities, and 38 bronze coins found in a woven container. The presence of both money and sentimental items indicates the owners likely had no time to retrieve them during the catastrophic eruption.
The house is tentatively associated with Cornelius Maximus due to inscriptions found nearby. This excavation, part of a wider restoration project, also revealed evidence of enduring urban challenges, such as the skeletons of two young mice found inside an amphora. The discoveries emphasize Pompeii's value not just for grand art but for the ordinary objects that restore the human dimension of the past.
