they are constantly discovering new secrets for scientists and archaeologists. The new scope of research, which started in 2023 and is still ongoing, allowed researchers to find new, previously unknown treasures of this place.
The new find is another in a series of successes of the research group operating in the area. A large residence called Villa Imperiali was identified in this area at the beginning of the 20th century.
Starting in 2017, and then in 2019, thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed with the prosecutor’s office in Torre Annunziata, excavations began in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, which helped to stop the systematic looting that had been affecting the villa for years. This was just an introduction to subsequent discoveries and allowed for the collection of new data.
Among the important discoveries at this site, which included the villa, the last of which is the carpentry room, a chapel, a place of religious worship, also emerges. The room is located at the pivot point between the service sector (with stables and a slave room) and the residential complex.
The uncovered chapel is a room covered with a sloping single-pitch roof, while the external front is completely plastered and painted white. It also has a large portal (2.65 x 2.75 m) and is topped with a kind of relief, classic, triangular tympanum.
In front of the huge door there is a ramp with wheel marks, indicating the possibility of using a ceremonial chariot during rituals.
Internally, the surroundings are characterized by painted wall decoration in the 4th style: the decorative cycle included a sequence of twelve yellow curtain panels on a red background, while in the center of the rear wall were two panels surrounding a brick podium.
Based on previous data, archaeologists believe the sacellum was once dedicated to the cult of Hercules, an iconic figure from Greek and Roman mythology famous for his unrivaled strength and a series of adventures known as the Twelve Labors.
Archaeologists believe the walls of the sacellum were probably once decorated with frescoes depicting the Twelve Labors, which included the slaying of mythological beasts such as the Hydra, but today “there are no traces of them.” Unfortunately, they were probably destroyed by robbers and treasure hunters.