Pompeii archaeologists discover first evidence of Greek in ancient city

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The discovery of a largely intact tomb in Pompeii, Italy, has given archaeologists their first look at the use of Greek in the ancient Roman city as well as the well-preserved remains of a slave-turned-priest.

The tomb was found in the necropolis of Porta Sarno in Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Much of the city was preserved under ash, giving modern archaeologists an unprecedented look at ancient Roman life.

"Pompeii never ceases to amaze, and has confirmed her place in a story of redemption, as an international role model, and a place where research and new archaeological excavations are taking place once more, thanks to the many professionals in the field of cultural heritage, who with their work never cease to produce extraordinary results for the world, which are a source of pride for Italy," Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said.

Workers with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and the European University of Valencia said the newly discovered tomb belonged to Marcus Venerius Secundio. He was a slave who, after being freed, rose in economic status and joined the Augustales, a college of priests dedicated to the imperial cult.

The epigraph on the tomb said Secundio "gave Greek and Latin ludi for the duration of four days." Ludi were public performances conducted in Greek, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the park said.

"It is the first clear evidence of performances at Pompeii in the Greek language, which had previously been hypothesized on the basis of indirect indicators," he said. "Here we have another tessera of a large mosaic, namely the multiethnic Pompeii of the early Imperial Age, where Greek, the then lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean, is indicated alongside Latin."

Archaeologists also found the remarkably well-preserved remains of Secundio inside a hermetically sealed 5.35-by-7.87-foot cell in the tomb. Archaeologists said the discovery was unusual because ancient Romans were typically cremated, as is evidenced by the two urns also found inside the tomb.

The conditions of the tomb kept the remains in "exceptional" condition, with hair and an ear still visible as well as fragments of fabric. Archaeologists transported the remains to the Laboratory of Applied Research in Pompeii for further analysis.

"We still need to understand whether the partial mummification of the deceased is due to intentional treatment or not," University of Valencia professor Llorenç Alapont said. "Even for those like me, who have been specialized in funerary archaeology for some time, the extraordinary wealth of information offered by this tomb, from the inscription to the burials, the osteological finds and the painted façade, is exceptional, which confirms the importance of adopting an interdisciplinary approach, such as that conducted by the University of Valencia and the Archaeological Park during this project."