Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Dionysian frieze discovered in Pompeii
Ongoing excavations of a grand domus in Pompeii’s Insula 10, Regio IX, have revealed a series of spectacular finds, including a dining room decorated with scenes from the Trojan War (CA 412), a lararium or household shrine room, and a private bath complex (CA 422). Most recently, a large banqueting hall was uncovered, decorated with a frieze depicting Dionysus’ retinue or thiasus, which has now provided the domus with a provisional name: ‘the House of the Thiasus’.
The frieze covers three walls (with the fourth opening out on to a garden) and is divided into 17 panels, each depicting a member of Dionysus’ entourage. It has been painted in what is known as the Second Style, dating it to 40-30 BC. This means it would have been around a century old by the time Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.
Widespread consumption of wine in Troy
Recent analysis of a depas goblet from the Bronze Age city of Troy has found that it once contained wine. In particular, the research, recently published in the American Journal of Archaeology (https://doi.org/10.1086/734061), found the presence of succinic and pyruvic acids, which are components of fermented grape juice.
These types of vessel have been found in both elite and non-elite contexts, within and outside the citadel complex. Additionally, the presence of wine was found on two fragments from ordinary ceramic cups. Together, this evidence suggests that wine consumption was a widespread cultural practice in the ancient city, and not only for those of high status.
Mesolithic Malta
New evidence has pushed back the earliest evidence for human occupation of Malta by 1,000 years. Previously, the earliest evidence of habitation of the island was from the Neolithic period, but recent excavations at Latnija, in northern Malta, have revealed extensive evidence of Mesolithic activity.
Finds from the site included several hearths, 64 stone tools, and more than 900 animal bones, many of which had evidence of charring. The faunal remains predominately belonged to red deer, birds, and marine gastropods. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the site was occupied between c.8,500 and 7,500 years ago. This adds to a growing amount of evidence that suggests Mesolithic people were able confidently to navigate more open water.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Valentin Marquardt/University of Tübingen
