Well-Preserved Frescoes Found in Small House in Pompeii

ROME, ITALY—Reuters reports that a small house lacking an atrium but decorated with well-preserved frescoes has been discovered in the Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The site has been named the House of Phaedra after the mythological queen of Athens, who is depicted in one of the paintings with her stepson Hippolytus, who refuses her advances. Other wall paintings depict patterns, scenes from nature, an encounter between a satyr and a nymph, and gods who may represent Venus and Adonis. To read about the process that went into Roman paintings, go to “Painting by Roman Numerals.”