Pompeii's Archaeological Park Opens the Female Section of the Forum Baths After Restoration

In the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the female section of the Forum Baths complex opens to the public today, March 8th, following the completion of maintenance and restoration work. Always used as a storage for archaeological material, and thus occupied by cumbersome shelving, the Baths - for the first time accessible to the public - have revealed painted surfaces, hitherto unknown due to thick concretions that obliterated their polychromy since the building's excavation in 1823-24. Thanks to the meticulous work of the restorers and with the help of a state-of-the-art laser tool, it was possible to remove the concretions and discover the beauty of the decoration of the first room, almost as if it were a new discovery. Beneath a thick layer of limestone, much of the fourth style decoration was hidden, characterized by the alternation of colored panels, and above the small pool, painted in aqua green, a splendid decoration with plant elements and birds on a yellow background was hidden, a true "discovery" obtained through the use of laser technology. The plant decoration also recurs in the structure supporting the basin, while numerous graffiti spread on the walls - ships rich in details, writings of various kinds, and even a phallic drawing tell us about the life of those who used the baths. The restoration intervention involved the execution of widespread protection works from degradation factors, the refurbishment of the roofing - sized to withstand even significant weather events, and the stitching of cracks, which compose a complex fissure pattern, largely a testimony of the events suffered by the monument in the various ancient phases - the earthquake of 62 AD, the eruption of 79 AD. The Forum Baths are located behind the Temple of Jupiter and date back to the years immediately following the deduction of the colony of veterans by General Sulla (80 BC). An inscription found near the entrance, now preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (CIL X 819), recalls that the construction took place by deliberation of the decurions and with public funds. The female and male parts had separate entrances. The female part, smaller than the male one, was under renovation at the time of the eruption. The thermal sector, developed for about 410 square meters, occupies the north-western corner of the block in which it is inscribed with a necessarily irregular plan determined by the diverging course of the Via delle Terme, to the north, and the Vicolo delle Terme, to the west.