In Pompeii, a woman's wardrobe resurfaces with beauty items and jewels

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1. 1h ago

   Pompeii Wardrobe Unearths Ancient Jewelry and Cosmetics

   Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a preserved wooden wardrobe containing jewelry, cosmetics, personal care items, and 38 coins inside a house belonging to Cornelius Maximus. The contents of the cupboard, which survived the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, also featured a child's charm necklace, amulets, tools, and the skeletons of two mice. The wood of the cabinet eventually rotted away, but volcanic ash hardened around it to preserve its shape, utilizing a preservation process similar to Pompeii's famous plaster human body casts.

   Why it matters

   The discovery sheds light on domestic life and the female sphere in ancient Pompeii before the catastrophic eruption. Excavations at house IX 11, 7, continue to yield extraordinary organic artifacts that survived centuries beneath hardened ash and gas. This find offers researchers rare physical evidence of everyday personal possessions and household management in the ancient Roman city.

   What is confirmed

   • A preserved wooden wardrobe discovered in Pompeii contained 38 coins, jewelry, tools, cosmetics, and children's amulets.
   • The artifacts were found inside the house of Cornelius Maximus at site IX 11, 7.
   • Volcanic ash hardened around the decomposing wood over nearly twenty centuries, preserving the interior shape of the cabinet.
   • The contents of the wardrobe included a child's charm necklace and the skeletons of two mice.

   What to watch next

   • Further analysis of the cosmetic and jewelry artifacts by archaeological teams
   • Additional artifact disclosures from ongoing excavations at house IX 11, 7
   Sources used for this update (20)

   1. www.euronews.com — French debt | Euronews
   2. uk.news.yahoo.com — Trucker strikes emptied my local supermarket shelves: Shopping locally made all the difference
   3. news.inbox.lv — Police close investigation into Hayden Panettiere's death
   4. Euronews.com — In Pompeii, a woman's wardrobe resurfaces with beauty items and jewels
   5. Reuters — Pompeii cupboard opens window onto life before Vesuvius erupted
   6. BBC Science Focus Magazine — 'Thought to be lost forever': After 2,000 years, a library buried by Pompeii’s eruption is finally revealing its secrets
   7. La Brújula Verde — A Pompeii Wardrobe Left Behind in the Eruption Held a Childhood Charm Necklace and 38 Coins
   8. The Independent — A cupboard sealed for 2,000 years reveals the secrets of Pompeii before deadly volcano
   9. Pompei Online — Pompeii, a Roman Cupboard Reveals a Forgotten Life: Childhood Amulets and 38 Coins Unearthed
   10. The Independent — Ancient Pompeii cupboard sheds light on those fleeing Vesuvius
   11. CBS News — Ancient cosmetics, coins, mouse skeletons found in Pompeii home shed light on life before deadly eruption
   12. Finestre sull'Arte — Pompeii: A Woman’s Wardrobe, Lost in the Eruption of 79 A.D., Resurfaces—Here’s What It Contained
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