Another building collapses at ancient Pompeii

Pompeii (Italy), Dec 1 (IANS/AKI) Another part of the world-famous ancient Roman city of Pompeii in southern Italy has collapsed, archaeological officials said Tuesday.

Following days of heavy rains, a section of a wall belonging to the House of the Moralist gave way.

The building is close one of the most archaeologically important houses in Pompeii, the 2,000-year-old House of the Gladiators, whose collapse Nov 6 shocked the world and drew calls for Italy’s Culture Minister Sandro Bondi to resign.

He has remained in his post and denies accusations that he has neglected the world-heritage site.

The House of the Moralist, also known as the House of M. Epidius Hymenaeus, lies on on one Pompeii’s main streets, the Via dell’Abbondanza, and consists of two connecting properties belonging to two related wine-merchants, T. Arrius Polites and M. Epidius Hymenaeus.

The house derives its name from three rules of etiquette inscribed on black panels in the triclinium, or dining-room: “Keep your feet clean and don’t dirty the linen”; “Have respect for other men’s wives”; and “Don’t argue, or you can go home”. The triclinium is one of the house’s better preserved rooms.

The wall that collapsed was in the building’s garden and did not contain frescos, Naples daily Il Mattino reported. Pompeii’s director of excavations Antonio Varone and a team of technical experts were assessing the damage to the wall and neaby stuccos. It was not immediately clear if the wall had stood since ancient Romans or had been reconstructed when Pompeii was excavated, the paper said.

–IANS/AKI