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Mysterious 'blue room' is found in ruins of Pompeii that suggests it was of 'great importance'
Archaeologists digging away at ash covering the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a room painted with a color rarely seen among the ruins.
The space's walls were a stunning, bright blue with frescoes of female figures that represented the four season along with imagery of agriculture and shepherding.
The team suggested that the room was used for pagan rituals and the storage of sacred objects as the blue color has only been found in places of great importance.
The work is part of an excavation project that has uncovered 13,000 rooms in 1,070 houses that stood in the Italian city before being buried in volcanic ash by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Archaeologists digging away at ash covering the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a room painted blue, which is rarely seen among the ruins
The discovery was made while archaeologists were excavating the second floor of a housing unit, uncovering a tunnel that led to the rare, blue room - dubbed Room 32
Pompeii, which lies 14 miles southeast of Naples, was once a buzzing city with some 15,000 residents before the eruption destroyed it on August 24, 79 AD.
The natural disaster is thought to have killed 16,000 people in Pompeii and surrounding towns, making it one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in history.
The city's remains were first uncovered in 1748, and archaeologists are still discovering more about the lives of those that once called Pompeii home.
The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, visited the site on Tuesday, describing the ancient city as 'a treasure chest that is still partly unexplored.'
The latest discovery was made while archaeologists were excavating the second floor of a housing unit, uncovering a tunnel that led to the rare blue room - dubbed Room 32.
The space was accessed through a vestibule that led into a garden once filled with beautiful fruit trees and vines, according to a translated version of the study.
The study also noted that such rooms like this one were 'intended for private religious rites.'
Each of the four women depicted on the walls have something in one hand and is adorned with a crown of flowers.
Some are wearing flowing gowns, while others are without clothes.
The blue walls also found to have stunning gold details, showing hand-painted pavilions and designs preserved for thousands of years.
The space's walls were a stunning, bright blue with frescoes of female figures that represented the four season
Images depicting agriculture and animal herding were also found on the walls
Researchers uncovered 15 jugs, still standing against the wall, oil lamps left in the area, and three decorative boxes were nestled inside the walls that likely held devotional statues.
Researchers uncovered 15 jugs, still standing against the wall, oil lamps and three decorative boxes nestled inside the walls that likely held devotional statues.
Building materials were also found, such as piles of oyster shells that were likely mixed with plaster and mortar.
The findings suggested that the house was undergoing renovations before being buried by volcanic ash.
However, the room was previously accessed in the 17th and 18th centuries by individuals who likely stole the statues that once sat in the wall boxes.
The study noted that such rooms were 'intended for private religious rites'
The blue walls also feature stunning gold details, showing hand-painted pavilions and designs preserved for thousands of years
The only written account of what happened to Pompeii came from a poet called Pliny the younger who watched the disaster unfold from a distance.
His letters describing the horrific event were found in the 16th century, revealing that the flood of hot ash took the residents by surprise.
Pliny said a column of smoke 'like an umbrella pine' rose from the volcano and made the towns around it as black as night.
While the eruption lasted for around 24 hours, the first pyroclastic surges began at midnight, causing the volcano's column to collapse.
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas rushed down the side of the volcano at 124 miles per hour, burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewelry and money, were killed instantly.