The Tamesis
Researchers at the Pompeii Archaeological Park have used cutting-edge imaging technology to decipher centuries-old graffiti on the walls of the corridors of the ancient city’s theater district – both literal and figurative, and some of it is quite poignant! The project, titled “Bruits de coulous” (Rumors), was launched by a team from the Sorbonne in Paris and the Université du Québec in Montreal during two field trips in 2022 and 2025.
The project’s goal was to “restore these inscriptions to their spatial context, revealed through graffiti themes/spatial clusters, interactions, and multiple forms of sociality within public spaces.” The space proved to encompass all aspects of sociality, with 230-foot-long corridors filled with inscriptions and drawings documenting gladiator battles, sports chants, minor insults, and erotic trysts (some of which were paid).
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A paper about a new discovery translates a lot of information. (Most are in Latin, some are in Greek, and some are in Arabic.) One, written in “the tone of a heroic comedy,” chronicles a sexual act between three men and a prostitute named Tychè. on site (“to this place,” meaning corridor). There are several examples of people showing love to another person.
The passage, covered with graffiti, was first excavated in 1794. Many of the nearly 300 inscriptions are already known, but 79 are newly legible thanks to reflection transformation imaging. Reflectance transformation imaging is a new technology that involves taking multiple photos of an object, where the positions of the camera and object are fixed but the light source is varied. RTI software can then merge multiple images into a single file containing various light positions.
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii Park, noted that there are more than 10,000 known pieces of graffiti in Pompeii. “Only the use of technology can guarantee the future of all living memories of Pompeii,” he said in a statement about the project.
