Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a wardrobe that no one opened again after Vesuvius buried the city in 79 CE. Thanks to the excavation data, the team could reconstruct the piece of furniture and its contents in full. It stood in House IX 11, 7, also known as the House of Cornelius Maximus, which faces Via dell’Abbondanza, one of the busiest streets in the ancient city.
The objects paint a picture of a woman’s daily life. Her grooming tools include tweezers and a small pestle for mixing makeup, plus a glass perfume bottle and an incense burner. A bronze lamp sat beside lead weights, which point to some kind of trade. The weights were stored in a small wooden box that has nearly rotted away. The shelves also held bronze, glass, and ceramic pots and pans. One fine little mug, decorated with pine cone scales, looks like more than a kitchen item.
