Huge frescoes depicting the ancient god of wine Dionysus have been unearthed at Pompeii in what has been hailed as a major archaeological breakthrough.
The frieze has been discovered in a spacious banqueting room in Insula 10, located in central Pompeii – and covers three walls of the room, with the fourth side opening onto a garden.
It portrays the procession of Dionysus alongside “bacchantes” – followers of Roman equivalent Bacchus – depicted both as dancers and fierce hunters.
One bacchante is shown carrying a slaughtered goat, while another holds a sword and animal innards.
PICTURED: Excavations in Pompeii in the shadow of Vesuvius
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Dating to between 40 and 30 BC, the painting was already about 100 years old when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying Pompeii.
At the centre of the composition stands a woman holding a torch, identified as an initiate about to join Dionysus through a nocturnal ritual.
“These are important frescoes both in their size and content,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the archaeological site at Pompeii.
The newly discovered “megalography” dates to the first century BC, and has been lauded by experts as highly significant.
“They enable us to better understand what we already knew,” Zuchtriegel added during the unveiling of the remarkable find.
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The friezes portray the procession of Dionysus alongside ‘bacchantes’
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Dionysus was believed to have the power to die and be reborn, promising the same destiny to his followers.
Zuchtriegel noted these frescoes complement similar images in the Villa of Mysteries – together, they represent the only two known depictions of the Dionysian cult to survive from antiquity.
“These are two extremes of the female experience in antiquity,” Zuchtriegel explained, contrasting the bacchantes with brides from earlier discoveries.
Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli addressed journalists in front of a frieze of Paris and Helen in an adjoining room.
“In 100 years’ time today will be seen as historic,” he said. “The megalography provides another glimpse into the rituals of the mysteries of Dionysus.”
The room will be open to small groups of visitors from Thursday, with booking required by phone
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“It is an exceptional historical document and, together with the fresco of the Villa of the Mysteries, constitutes a one of a kind, making Pompeii an extraordinary testimony to an aspect of classical Mediterranean life that is largely unknown.”
The room will be open to small groups of visitors from Thursday, with booking required by phone.
British archaeologist Sophie Hay highlighted the exquisitely rendered images of dead animals and seafood at the top of the walls.
She suggested future excavations might focus on Roman villas outside Pompeii to protect them from looting.
“These were mystery cults, so what they did remains a mystery, even in the ancient written sources,” Hay said regarding the female participants in Dionysian rituals.