‘Enchanted garden’ revealed in Pompeii

ROME — Archeologists have uncovered a new treasure in the ruins of Pompeii: a richly painted garden scene in the shrine area of a home that had been buried following the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.

The ANSA news agency said it was given exclusive access Friday to the site, known as a lararium. In ancient Roman times, lararia were altar spaces at the entrances of homes of the well-todo where offerings and prayers were made to the gods.

Photos of the site show deep blood-red walls and paintings of bulls, as well as enchanted garden scenes of delicate birds, trees and snakes.

ANSA quoted the head of the Pompeii archeological site, Massimo Osanna, describing the discovery as a “marvellous.”

CIRO FUSCO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An archeologist works on a wall painting of snakes in a house in Pompeii, Italy. Archeologists have discovered a richly painted house with an “enchanted garden,” with incredibly intact frescos and a majestic lararium, a shrine to the guardian spirits, in the city buried when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.