Excavations at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have uncovered a collection of personal objects preserved inside a wooden wardrobe for approximately two millennia. The artifacts were found in a room of a home located on Via dell’Abbondanza, one of the city’s most prominent streets. Items recovered from the wardrobe include makeup implements, a small glass perfume vessel, an incense burner, a bronze lamp, and 38 bronze coins.
Among the most significant discoveries was a necklace featuring over 20 small charms made from different materials and depicting various deities, including the gods Bes and Mercury. This type of ornament, known as a crepundia, was traditionally given to children in Roman society. The charms would produce rattling sounds to help parents keep track of their offspring and could serve an identification function. According to Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological park, such necklaces held particular importance as mementos for children whose parents were often displaced, reflecting the mobile nature of Mediterranean societies during that era.
The wardrobe also held cooking vessels and a wooden box containing lead weights, suggesting the home’s occupant may have engaged in trade. Archaeologists theorize that the presence of valuable items left behind indicates the owners may have fled hastily during the volcanic catastrophe. The home was previously linked to an individual named Cornelius Maximus based on inscriptions, though the facade was first systematically excavated in 1912. Current investigations represent an ongoing restoration initiative examining previously unexplored rooms.
Concurrent excavation efforts are proceeding at the Villa of the Mysteries in a Pompeii suburb. Archaeologists are focusing on the servants’ quarters rather than the main residential areas, aiming to document the lived experiences of enslaved and lower-status inhabitants whose histories remain less documented. Such investigations seek to illuminate economic patterns and day-to-day conditions among populations typically underrepresented in the historical record.
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