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Pompeii. New discoveries

A bird of prey stands out in the upper part of the lararium. The raptor, which can probably be identified as an eagle, holds a palm branch in its claws. In the lower part, the scene consists of two snakes facing each other which frame an altar with a fluted circular shaft on which offerings are placed. From the left, it is possible to distinguish the following features: a pine cone, a raised element that supports an egg, and what appear to be a fig and a date. The background of the scene is filled with two bushes with lanceolate leaves and red and yellow berries on which three sparrows move about. Several interesting finds were discovered inside the niche: ritual objects, left as part of a last offering before the eruption that destroyed Pompeii in AD 79: an incense burner in achromatic clay with missing pieces dating from antiquity and a lamp, both displaying clear signs of burning. Laboratory analyses have made it possible to identify the remains of twigs of aromatic plants, while two parts of a dried fig were found behind the two objects. Two strips of coloured marble were discovered on the flat top of the altar together with a third element, presumably made of red marble, with the depiction of a face ascribable to the Dionysian world, probably a Silenus.

Text from the article by pompeiisites.org (October 2024) Photos provided by pompeiisites.org

#archaeology #pompeii archaeological park #pompeii #lararium #ancient rome

Pompeii lararium on shop wall, 1st century BC Pompeii, Campania, Italia A larararium, or altar, in the form of a fresco in the atrium of an ancient fast food joint on the Via dell'Abbondanza in Pompeii.

It's like winning the archaeological lottery twice.

"In every Roman home, from the grimiest apartment in Rome to the grandest villa in Tuscany, there were the Lares. These were the household gods — the spirits of the ancestors and the protectors of the hearth. A lararium was their home. It was a small shrine where the family would offer bits of food, pour a little wine, or light a lamp to ensure the house didn’t burn down and the children stayed healthy. "This lararium is the crown jewel of the dig. Because while these are common in the ash-preserved streets of Pompeii or Herculaneum, they are virtually unheard of in the northwestern provinces of the Empire. Usually, centuries of rebuilding and stone-robbing leave nothing but dust. "This is a window into the psyche of a Roman governor. Imagine a high-ranking official, thousands of miles from the Mediterranean sun, standing in a cold room in Cologne. He isn’t at a public temple praying to Jupiter for a military victory. He is at his private altar, performing the same small, intimate rituals his grandfather did back in Italy. It shows that even at the edge of the empire, the “Roman-ness” of daily life was fiercely preserved." - Mihai Andrei, February 16, 2026

An audio version of this article is also available through the link.

Archaeologists uncover a rare Roman staircase, basilica apse, and unique lararium beneath Cologne’s MiQua Jewish Museum site.

This article provides a few more details.

#archaeology #ancient roman religion #lararium #roman empire #private worship in roman empire #roman polytheism

Roman lararium (tufa, c. 1st to 2nd century AD)

Designed like a temple in miniature with pilasters, steps leading up, an eagle in the pediment and a different fruit behind each palmette acroterion, this would have stood in a wealthy Roman house or garden. From the time of Augustus onwards every Roman household would have had a lararium for the lar familiaris, the household deity that protected the members of the family, ensuring their health and prosperity, as well as other gods favoured by the family.

from here

#roman art #lararium #archaeology #tufa