Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered new evidence in a Roman house that shows the final moments of its residents and how they tried to survive the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
The house, first excavated in 2024, is known as the House of Helle and Phrixus. It is named after a fresco found in the dining room that shows the Greek myth of a brother and sister fleeing on a winged ram.
Discoveries made in 2025 include human remains and everyday objects that offer a closer look at life and death during the disaster.
Residents tried to block the danger
Inside the house, archaeologists found a wooden bed placed across a doorway. Experts believe the residents used it to block falling debris during the early stages of the eruption. Volcanic stones, called lapilli, had fallen through an opening in the roof, which was originally built to collect rainwater.
Near the doorway, researchers found the remains of at least four people. One was a child. Next to the child’s body was a small bronze necklace charm called a bulla. Roman boys wore it for protection until adulthood. It now serves as a quiet reminder of the lives lost.
Ancient tools and food jars found
Many of the home’s furnishings had turned to ash over time. Archaeologists used a method called plaster casting to fill the empty spaces left behind. This helped them recreate the shapes of the original items.
They found bronze tableware, including a jug, a bowl, and a cup shaped like a shell. In a storage room, they discovered large clay jars, or amphorae, that once held garum, a fermented fish sauce commonly used in Greek and Roman cooking.
A house under repair
The house is near the well-known House of Leda and the Swan. It showed signs of renovation when the eruption hit. Walls were unfinished, decorations were missing, and door frames had been taken apart.
Archaeologists think the Pompeii house residents stayed during their final moments, hoping the stone walls would protect them. But in the final stage of the eruption, a fast-moving cloud of hot gas and ash swept through the city and destroyed everything.
A painting with a deeper meaning
The house gets its name from a painting in the dining room. It shows the myth of Helle and Phrixus. In the scene, Helle falls into the sea while fleeing with her brother on a flying ram.
By the 1st century A.D., stories like this were no longer used for religious purposes. Instead, they were a sign of culture and social status. Wealthy Romans often decorated their homes with these images.
A story frozen in time
“In this small, wonderfully decorated house, we found traces of the inhabitants who tried to save themselves,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. “A hell that hit this city on 24 August 79 A.D., of which we still find traces of today.”
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii in just a few hours. Nearly 2,000 years later, discoveries from the House of Helle and Phrixus continue to reveal how people once lived – and died – in the ancient city.