In the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the women's section of the Forum Baths complex opens to the public on 8 March, following the completion of maintenance and restoration works.
Always used as a deposit for archaeological material, and therefore occupied by cumbersome shelves, the Baths - accessible to the public for the first time - revealed painted surfaces, which until now remained unknown due to thick concretions which obliterated their polychromy already from the time of the excavation of the building in 1823-24.
Thanks to the meticulous work of the restorers and with the help of a latest generation laser instrument, it was possible to remove the concretions and discover the beauty of the decoration of the first room, almost as if it were a new discovery.
Beneath a thick layer of limestone, a good part of the 4th style decoration was hidden, characterized by the alternation of colored panels, and above the small basin, painted in aqua green, there was a splendid decoration with vegetal elements and birds on a yellow background, a true "discovery" obtained through the use of laser technology.
The vegetal decoration also occurs in the support structure of the basin, while numerous graffiti spread across the walls - vessels rich in details, writings of various kinds and even a phallic drawing tell us about the life of those who used the spa.
The restoration intervention involved the execution of widespread protection works from degradation factors, the resurfacing of the roof coverings - sized so as to resist even highly intense meteorological events, and the filling of the cracks, which make up a complex crack pattern, largely evidence of the events suffered by the monument in the various ancient phases - the earthquake of 62 AD, the eruption of 79 AD. The Forum Baths are located behind the Temple of Jupiter and date back to the years immediately following the deduction of the colony of veterans by general Silla (80 BC).
The female and male sections had separate entrances.
The female part, smaller than the male one, was under renovation at the time of the eruption.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA