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00:00 A few meters below the ground, this is the latest treasure to be unearthed in Pompeii.
00:04 A banquet hall 15 meters long and 6 meters wide, with mosaics on the floor and small frescoes on
00:11 the walls. The paintings are remarkably well preserved. Lanterns used during banquets would
00:16 make them appear to come to life. "The walls were painted black to prevent the smoke from the old
00:24 lamps from spoiling them. The flickering light from the lamps gave the impression that the images
00:31 on the walls were moving." The artworks are said to depict figures from Greek mythology.
00:38 Here we see Helen of Troy meeting Paris, Prince of Troy. And this image is said to depict Apollo
00:46 attempting to seduce the Trojan priestess, Cassandra. "And it was an occasion to talk
00:52 about love, about the couple, but also of the bigger story that involves these two,
00:59 that are the cause, or maybe just the pretext, for the Trojan War."
01:03 Pompeii is an open-air museum. The volcanic ash released by Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago froze
01:11 the city and its inhabitants for eternity. Around a third of the site remains to be excavated.
01:18 Archaeologists continue to make discoveries in what was once a thriving Roman city.
01:22 "You can see all that remains of life, of ancient life, not only some fragments,
01:32 but their houses, their objects. For this reason, Pompeii is unique."
01:39 One of the world's most popular archaeological sites,
01:43 Pompeii welcomes some 2.5 million tourists each year.
01:46 - Yeah.