NAPLES, ITALY—CBS News reports that a house that was under renovation when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in A.D. 79 is being analyzed in Pompeii in order to learn about Roman construction practices. Previous excavations at this house in Region IX uncovered the bakery of Rustius Verus, which features a painting of focaccia and a goblet of wine. Now, bricks and tools have been found in the house’s reception area, which was decorated with a painting of Achilles. Numerals written on the walls with charcoal may have been a form of accounting for the job, and would have been easily erased when the work was finished. Amphoras used to immerse lime in water were uncovered in the lararium, or shrine, of the home, while iron hoes were found in other rooms, suggesting that lime was slaked on site and then mixed with sand and stones to produce plaster, mortar, or cement as needed. “It is a further example of how the small city of Pompeii makes us understand many things about the great Roman Empire, not least the use of cement works,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii Archaeological Park. For more on one of the wall paintings in this house, go to "Pizza! Pizza?"
