An opulent Roman house that was buried in ash from the Mount Vesuvius eruption has been reopened to the public for the first time in more than 30 years following a massive effort to conserve the site.
Dubbed “the house of the bicentennial,” the ancient home is in Herculaneum, an affluent ancient Roman town near Pompeii that suffered the same fate as its neighbor when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D
Reuters reports that the house was discovered in 1938 on the 200th anniversary of excavations at the site. The three-story house, which contains elaborate frescoes and mosaics, was closed to the public in 1983 after years of neglect, according to Reuters.
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In a statement, the Herculaneum Archaeological Park describes the house of the bicentennial as “a jewel of ancient domestic life.”
A view of one of the frescoes inside the Bicentennial House, Herculaneum.
(Photo by Marco Cantile/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The house reopened to the public on Oct. 24.
The nearby Pompeii archaeological site offers a remarkable glimpse into the Roman era. Earlier this year, for example, archaeologists uncovered an ancient fast-food joint at Pompeii.
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Last year, an excavation at the site unearthed the skeleton of a man who was crushed by a large block of stone while attempting to flee the Mount Vesuvius eruption.
The Italian Minister for Cultural Heritage, Dario Franceschini, admires one of the frescoes inside the house of the bicentennial. (Photo by Marco Cantile/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Archaeologists also unearthed the final resting place of an ancient racehorse among the ruins of Pompeii.
The ancient city was devastated following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii was quickly buried by volcanic ash, killing about 2,000 of the city’s residents, according to History.com.
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Additionally, a scrawled piece of text on a wall in Pompeii is also rewriting the history of the famous ancient eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
An external view of the house of the bicentennial.
(Photo by Marco Cantile/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The charcoal inscription, which was discovered last year, suggests that the eruption occurred in October of 79 A.D., two months later than previously thought.
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The archaeological site of Herculaneum in Ercolano, near Naples, with the Mount Vesuvius volcano in the background, on Oct. 23, 2019.
(Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
A new study also revealed that when Mount Vesuvius erupted the intense heat caused victims’ skulls to explode and their blood to boil.
Fox News’ Chris Ciaccia contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
