Lost Pompeii's Luxury Tower Revealed
Researchers made a "ground-breaking" discovery at the 'Lost Pompeii', revealing a grand staircase in the House of Thiasus villa led to a luxury tower used by Roman elite. The find reshapes understanding of Pompeii's architectural sophistication and the lives of its wealthiest residents before the city's destruction.
This "lost Pompeii" is not a newly found city, but the vanished upper stories of known buildings, destroyed by the 79 C.E. eruption of Mount Vesuvius. While ground floors were preserved under volcanic ash, the upper levels collapsed, leaving clues like staircases that seemingly led nowhere. A team from the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and Berlin's Humboldt University is digitally reconstructing these missing floors. The joint project, named POMPEII RESET, uses 3D modeling, LiDAR scanning, and close-range photography to create "digital twins" of what the buildings looked like before the eruption. The focus of the study is the House of Thiasus in the Regio IX district, likely the residence of a prominent politician. Digital reconstruction suggests its grand stone staircase led to a two-story tower reaching as high as 40 feet (12 meters), an unusual feature for a city home. This tower likely housed a lavish upper-level dining room with large windows, offering panoramic views of the city and the Bay of Naples. Such towers were symbols of power and wealth, introducing the luxurious style of countryside villas into the urban heart of Pompeii.
