Discoveries and news in Rome

In May 2025, a pair of volunteers discovered a relief of the winged Roman goddess of victory, Victoria, at Vindolanda, a Roman fort in northern England. The 47 cm high relief was found in the rubble of a former infantry barracks and is dated to the early 3rd century CE.

In Pompeii, in Insula 10 (Casa del Tiaso) in Region IX, archaeologists have discovered an exceptional fresco depicting rituals related to the cult of Dionysus. It is located in the large banquet hall and decorates three walls of the room, while the fourth opens onto the garden.

Archaeologists have uncovered moving evidence of a family’s desperate attempt to survive the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE in a house named “Helle and Phrixus” after a fresco of the mythological siblings. The remains of four people, including a child, were found in a bedroom. The remains of a bed were also discovered, probably used as a door barricade to protect against falling ash and lapilli that entered through the open roof of the atrium.

Marble statue of Mercury (Greek Hermes), the messenger god and patron of trade, from the Roman Empire (2nd-3rd century CE) was discovered in the ancient city of Aspendos (southern Turkey).

Archaeologists made an extraordinary discovery in Pompeii – beautiful frescoes depicting rituals related to Dionysian mysteries were uncovered. This is one of the best-preserved paintings presenting such events.

In January 2025, members of the Inventum Association, Rafał Proszowski and Mariusz Lampa, discovered in the northern Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, a Roman sword from nearly 2000 years ago. The artifact, probably a two-rear spatha used by the Roman trough, was found in three fragments, which suggests his ritual fracture during a funeral ceremony.

Archaeologists in Denmark made an extraordinary discovery in December 2024, digging up a 1600-year-old Roman helmet and German weapons.

In August 2023, the arena of a Roman amphitheater was discovered in eastern Portugal, which was located between a quarry and a wall in the ancient city of Ammaia. The city existed from 1st BCE to the 5th century CE and was an important source of quartz and gold supplies.

Archaeologists in Pompeii discovered a private, richly decorated bathhouse from 2,000 years ago, considered to be one of the largest found so far. The bathhouse could accommodate about 30 people and consisted of several rooms: hot, warm, cool, and a changing room equipped with benches.

In March 2024, archaeologists from the Red River Archeology Group discovered a Roman villa while working on the Brookside Meadows estate in Grove, near Wantage in Oxfordshire, central England. The area has been inhabited since the Bronze Age and is rich in artifacts.