Stunning new frescoes unearthed in Pompeii

In between broken walls and beneath a clear sky, Helen of Troy is getting her first bit of sun in 2,000 years. A gaggle of archaeologists and film-makers have just climbed up a slope of debris from Vesuvius to see her, for today she is part of the latest secret to be uncovered at Pompeii.

Helen and a number of other characters from the Trojan war have been found in exquisite frescoes that adorn a freshly unearthed wall in a dining room. They are beautiful but what makes them so unusual is their extraordinary condition. It seems that the room had been decorated shortly before Vesuvius erupted. The frescoes appear to be some of the last works of art to be made in the doomed city.

The discovery of the dining room was made during the last days of filming for the documentary Pompeii: The New Dig, which charts this largest excavation in a generation. The frescoes in the “black room” will feature in the final episode of the series, which begins next Monday, and The Times was on site shortly after their discovery.

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