Uncovered in what was once a spacious banqueting hall that opened onto a garden, the frieze dates back to the 1st century BC, meaning it was nearly 100 years old when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying Pompeii in pumice and killing more than 2,000 inhabitants.

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