'Once-in-a-century' discovery is unearthed at Pompeii - and it reveals what life was like for the super-rich in the ancient Roman city
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A 'once in a century' discovery has revealed a luxurious private bathhouse in the tragic Roman city of Pompeii. The bathhouse included a huge plunge pool, hot, warm and cold rooms, frescoes and a marble mosaic floor. And experts believe it was potentially the largest of its kind within a private home in Pompeii.
![[The bathhouse included a huge plunge pool, hot, warm and cold rooms, frescoes and a marble mosaic floor]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/12/94208231-14296257-image-a-13_1737115699127.jpg)
Only the super-wealthy would have been able to afford their own personal spa. But the residence containing the bathhouse, discovered only in the past two years, was in the path of the catastrophic tidal wave of volcanic debris from Mount Vesuvius's eruption in AD79, which left Pompeii perfectly preserved under a blanket of ash and pumice.
![[Experts believe it was potentially the largest of its kind within a private home in Pompeii. Only the super-wealthy would have been able to afford their own personal spa]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/12/94208201-14296257-Experts_believe_it_was_potentially_the_largest_of_its_kind_withi-a-15_1737115777145.jpg)
Inside were the remains of two people who had barricaded themselves in a small room following the eruption, only for the man to be crushed by a collapsed wall and the woman killed by a flood of superheated volcanic gas and ash. The bathhouse discovery, revealed to the BBC, is part of a BBC2 programme airing on Monday called Pompeii: The New Dig.
![[The spa-like complex begins with a hot room rather like a sauna, which had a suspended floor allowing hot air to flow underneath]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/12/94208227-14296257-The_spa_like_complex_begins_with_a_hot_room_rather_like_a_sauna_-a-17_1737115828015.jpg)
Dr Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, said: 'It's these spaces that really are part of the 'Pompeii effect' - it's almost as if the people had only left a minute ago.'. A 'once in a century' discovery has revealed a luxurious private bathhouse in the tragic Roman city of Pompeii.
![[Next comes a colourful warm room, where it is likely bathers would have oil rubbed into their skin, then removed with a curved instrument called a strigil]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/12/94208233-14296257-Next_comes_a_colourful_warm_room_where_it_is_likely_bathers_woul-a-20_1737115867559.jpg)
The bathhouse included a huge plunge pool, hot, warm and cold rooms, frescoes and a marble mosaic floor. Experts believe it was potentially the largest of its kind within a private home in Pompeii. Only the super-wealthy would have been able to afford their own personal spa.
![[The last stage is the frigidarium, or cold room, where an opulent plunge pool large enough for 30 people was surrounded by red columns and frescoes depicting athletes]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/12/94208199-14296257-The_last_stage_is_the_frigidarium_or_cold_room_where_an_opulent_-a-21_1737115869878.jpg)
