The archaeological site of Pompeii (south), the Roman city devastated two millennia ago by the Vesuvius volcano, opened its female baths for the first time this Wednesday, decorated with frescoes never seen before and now restored.
The opening coincides with International Women's Day and comes after a thorough restoration of these baths, located in the city Forum and which were buried by the fateful volcanic eruption of 79 AD until their discovery in the 19th century.
Archaeologists have cleaned the walls of the female baths and removed the thick layer of lime that covered them with state-of-the-art laser technology, which has made it possible to discover numerous previously unknown painted surfaces.
For example, in the area of the frigidarium, the cold sector of the three that made up the Roman baths, along with the warm and warm ones, a small bathtub has been discovered whose walls are decorated with plant and bird elements on a yellow background.
In addition, a lot of graffiti and a drawing of a phallus have appeared, something common among those Romans, who used to leave all kinds of writings, for posterity, on the walls of the city.
The 'female baths' of the Forum were excavated between 1823 and 1824, but since their discovery they were used as a warehouse for the different remains and vestiges that were appearing among the solidified ash that buried this city in the Gulf of Naples.
These baths are located in the very center of ancient Pompeii, behind the important Temple of Jupiter, and their construction dates back to the year 80 BC, when the Roman dictator Sulla converted the city into a colony for the holiday of his war veterans.
In fact, an inscription found at its entrance, currently preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, recalls that its opening was ordered by the 'decuriones' or captains and financed with public money.
The women's sector, now open for the first time, was smaller than the men's and is known to have been being restructured when the Vesuvius volcano erupted.
