Newly discovered Pompeii frieze shows wild Bacchanalian rituals

Another new discovery in the ruins of Pompeii has shed light on the wilder side of the ancient Romans. An extremely rare frieze known as a megalography, or painting with lifesized figures, has been unearthed in an area where ongoing excavations have produced some of the ancient sites most important finds. Uncovered in what was once a spacious banqueting hall that opened onto a garden, the frieze dates back to the 1st century BC, meaning it was nearly 100 years old when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying Pompeii in pumice and killing more than 2, 000 inhabitants. The newest discovery, in Region IX in the central part of the city, depicts the procession of Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, against walls and columns painted in Pompeiian red. The depictions show priests and priestesses, known as bacchantes or maenads, portrayed as dancers, along with flautists, hunters and huntresses with slaughtered animals slung on their shoulders. In one image, a hunter swings a sword from which animal entra