Pompeii, parade chariot found in excellent condition: a unicum in Italy

In Pompeii, the excavation of the suburban villa in the Civita Giuliana locality (conducted as part of the joint activity between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor’s Office, launched in 2017 and in light of the Protocol ofAgreement signed in 2019, aimed at combating illegal activities by illegal immigrants in the area) returned a four-wheeled parade float in excellent condition. It is a ceremonial chariot with iron elements, bronze and tin decorations, mineralized wooden remains, imprints of organic elements (from ropes to remains of plant decorations), and was found in the porch where the remains of three equids had already surfaced in 2018.

According to Park experts, this is "an exceptional find, not only because it adds one more element to the history of this dwelling, to the story of the last moments of life of those who inhabited the villa, and more generally to the knowledge of the ancient world, but above all because it returns a unique find (never before found in Italy) in an excellent state of preservation.

The chariot: a “unicum” according to experts

The cinerite blanket that sealed the chariot allowed the preservation of its original dimensions and the individual parts that mark its structure in connection. It is a four-wheeled chariot, probably identifiable on the basis of the information handed down in the sources and the few archaeological findings known to date with a pilentum, a transport vehicle used in the Roman world by elites in ceremonial contexts. On tall iron wheels, connected together by an advanced mechanical system, stands the lightweight caisson (90 x 140 cm), the main part of the chariot, on which seating, surrounded by metal armrests and backrests, was provided for one or two individuals. The caisson is richly decorated on the two long sides with alternating carved bronze sheets and wooden panels painted in red and black, while on the back it ends with a complex and intricate decorative system involving three distinct registers with a succession of bronze and tin medallions with figured scenes. These, set into the bronze foils and surrounded by decorative motifs carved into them, depict male and female figures in relief portrayed in scenes depicting satyrs and nymphs.

The bronze sheet is also decorated in the upper part with small medallions, also made of tin, depicting cupids engaged in various activities. A small bronze female herm with crown is preserved in the lower part of the chariot. Here, too, archaeobotanical analyses were carried out, which showed that the wood used to make the side structures and the back of the chariot to which the decorative bronze elements are attached by means of small nails and grapples is beech, which is particularly suitable for this type of workmanship.

According to Park archaeologists, the chariot represents a unicum in Italy not only because of the level of preservation, in that we have not only the individual decorations but the entire vehicle, and also because it is not a chariot used for transporting agricultural products or for the activities of daily life, already attested in both Pompeii and Stabia. In the adjacent stable already investigated, we recall that it was possible to make, in addition to the cast of the manger, the cast of a large horse, which had rich bronze trappings. Two other horses were found in the same room, one lying on its right side and one on its left side, whose casts could not be made, due to the damage caused by the tomb raiders’ tunnels and the subsequent cementing of the cavities, which had destroyed the context of their discovery. However, other bronze trappings, pertaining to a saddle and other parade elements, were found that were sure to correlate with the chariot found.

Never having emerged from Italian soil, the chariot type finds comparisons with artifacts found some 15 years ago inside a burial mound in Thrace (in northern Greece, bordering Bulgaria). One of the Thracian chariots is particularly close to ours although lacking the extraordinary figurative decorations that accompany the Pompeian find.

The excavation

The excavation that led to the discovery of the chariot is part of a project that has a twofold purpose: to cooperate in investigations with the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor’s Office in order to stop the looting of cultural heritage by illegal immigrants who had drilled several tunnels in the area to intercept archaeological treasures; and on the other hand, to bring to light and save from the action of clandestine excavations one of the most significant villas in the Vesuvian territory. In particular, the excavation from which the chariot emerged proved particularly complex due to the fragility of the materials and the difficult working conditions; therefore, it was necessary to proceed with what the Park’s archaeologists call “micro-excavation,” conducted by the Park’s restorers who specialize in the treatment of wood and metals. At the same time, whenever a void was found, plaster was poured to try to preserve the imprint of the organic material no longer present. Thus it was possible to preserve the helm and bench of the chariot, but also impressions of ropes and cordage, thus restoring the chariot in its complexity.

Given the extreme fragility of the chariot and the risk of possible intervention and damage by illegal immig rants due to leakage, the team also worked every weekend since mid-January, both to ensure its preservation and to give a strong sign of theheritage protection action exercised by the Park in synergy with the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Carabinieri of the Naples Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, assisted by investigators from the Torre Annunziata Carabinieri Group Command. This collaboration has also led to the participation of Park technicians in the ongoing trial of the alleged illegal excavators who have so heavily affected this villa in recent years. Having finished the in situ micro-excavation, currently the various elements of the chariot have been transported to the laboratory inside the Pompeii Archaeological Park, where restorers are proceeding to complete the removal of the volcanic material that still encompasses some of the metal elements and to begin the lengthy restoration and reconstruction work on the chariot.

The statements

“Pompeii continues to amaze with its discoveries,” says Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, “and will be so for many more years with twenty hectares still to be excavated. But above all, it shows that you can do valorization, you can attract tourists from all over the world and at the same time you can do research, training and studies, and a young director like Zuchtriegel will enhance this commitment. What is being announced today is a discovery of great scientific value. I applaud and thank the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Carabinieri of the Nucleus Tutela Patrimonio Culturale for the collaboration that prevented such extraordinary finds from being stolen and illegally placed on the market.”

“This is an extraordinary discovery for the advancement of knowledge of the ancient world,” says Massimo Osanna, outgoing director of the Archaeological Park. "Vehicles for transportation have been found in Pompeii in the past, such as the one from the House of Menander, or the two chariots found at Villa Arianna (one of which can be admired in the new Stabian Antiquarium), but nothing like the Civita Giuliana chariot.

“Constant in recent years has been the attention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Torre Annunziata to the protection of the immense archaeological heritage present in the territory under its jurisdiction,” says Torre Annunziata Chief Prosecutor Nunzio Fragliasso.

Pompeii, parade chariot found in excellent condition: a unicum in Italy

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