NAPLES, ITALY—The Guardian reports that the remains of three wood and rope beds, a chamber pot, a wooden chest containing objects made of metal and fabric, and a chariot shaft have been found in a small room in the villa at Civita Giuliana, which is located outside the city walls of Pompeii. Measuring about 170 square feet, the room has a small upper window, lacks painted wall decorations, and is thought to have been occupied by enslaved people who worked at the villa and maintained its chariot. Amphoras and jugs under the beds are thought to have held personal possessions. “What is most striking is the cramped and precarious nature of this room,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. He noted that the room resembles a cross between a dormitory and a storage room. The remains of two people, thought to be a master and servant, were previously found in a corridor in the same villa. The younger man had several compressed vertebrae, suggesting that he performed heavy labor over his lifetime. To read more about the human remains found at Civita Giuliana, go to "More Vesuvius Victims."
