Another new discovery in the ruins of Pompeii has shed light on the wilder side of the ancient Romans. An extremely rare frieze known as a “megalography,” or painting with life-sized figures, has been unearthed in an area where ongoing excavations have produced some of the ancient site’s most important finds.

A downright bacchanalian frieze has just been unearthed in Pompeii, one so large it spans three walls of a massive banquet room.

Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a series of nearly life-size frescoes spanning three walls of an ancient banquet hall. Set against a ruby-red backdrop, the wall paintings depict female followers of Dionysus—the Greek god of wine and ecstasy—engaged in secretive cult rituals.

The narrative draws from the ancient Greek play The Bacchae, written by Euripides in 405 BCE, wherein Dionysus descends on Thebes seeking retribution for slander against him. The

Huge frescoes depicting the ancient god of wine Dionysus have been unearthed at Pompeii in what has been hailed as a major archaeological breakthrough. The frieze has been discovered in a spacious banqueting room in Insula 10,

A new 50-room villa complete with stunning frescoes presenting the cult of Dionysus was found in Pompeii in what is regarded as once in a hundred years find. The discovery emerged from recent excavations at the Pompeii archaeological site.