22 December 2023

13 TERRACOTTA FIGURINES EMERGE FROM THE PUMICE DURING THE EXCAVATION OF A DOMUS NORTH OF THE HOUSE OF LEDA AND THE SWAN

The tradition of nativity scenes dates back to more recent history, yet traces of ritual arrangements in houses are known from ancient times. 13 terracotta figurines, the remains of an ancient ritual, emerge from a room of a domus bordering the House of Leda and the swan, where an excavation and conservation are currently underway alongside a programme to improve accessibility and understanding of the site.

The small sculptures of about 15 cm in height – as reported in the E-journal of the Pompeii excavations https://pompeiisites.org/e-journal-degli-scavi-di-pompei/ – among which one can recognise human figures, but also a walnut, an almond, the head of a rooster in clay and a glass pine cone were found in a room in an upright position on a horizontal plane where a shelf was probably affixed.

The sculptures emerged from the pumice at a height of over 2 metres above the floor level. The walls of room that contained them, probably the atrium of the house, were painted and frescoes have emerged on the upper part of the walls.

From initial studies, some of the figurines seem to refer to the myth of Cybele and Attis, connected to the life cycle of the seasons and the fertility of the earth, and thus to the spring equinox.

The work in progress focuses on the rooms already uncovered in the House of Leda (discovered between 2018 and 2019 as part of the works envisaged by the Great Pompeii Project) and those of two houses, not yet fully defined, to the north and south of the House of Leda.

During the removal of the material still present in some of the rooms of the House of Leda, in order to reach the level of the floor, a finely frescoed room also emerged in which four roundels with female faces of refined elegance stand out.

The purpose of the excavation is to consolidate and stabilise the edge of the site (the boundary between structures already exposed and the unexcavated areas) and to safeguard and conserve the buildings and decorative schemes, in preparation for access to the complex by the general public in the future.