The treasure of Boscoreale is spectacular because of its size and the quality of its 109 pieces. It was discovered in a villa of about 1000 square metres, located three kilometres away from Pompeii, that had been buried under lava when the Vesuvius erupted on 24 august 79 AD.
It used to be a farm with...
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The treasure of Boscoreale is spectacular because of its size and the quality of its 109 pieces. It was discovered in a villa of about 1000 square metres, located three kilometres away from Pompeii, that had been buried under lava when the Vesuvius erupted on 24 august 79 AD.
It used to be a farm with vineyards and olive groves, and it was composed of living rooms and functional areas containing grape and olive presses, as well as a tank in which the treasure was discovered.
During the first century of our era, silverware appealed to rich Romans despite laws that sought to restrict luxurious tableware.
The treasure includes a vase, with curved outlines embellished with a decoration of feathers, arranged in an overlapping pattern, like scales, and four small cylindrical recipients, wrongly regarded as salt cellars, decorated with interfaced ribbons, reeds, frieze of palms and flowers, together with the three legs in the form of lion's claws.
These pieces reflect the refined tableware of the original owner, who was clearly a man of taste.
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