Dr Sophie Hay

Very kind of you! Thank you. Unfortunately my PhD is not yet published but consider yourself spared from a rather intense/dull account of analysing wall construction and identifying Roman DIY!

Schließung des Instituts für Archäologie an der HU-Berlin Die Archäologie gehört seit fast 200 Jahren zur wissenschaftlichen Tradition der Humboldt-Universität. Ihre Schließung bedeutet den Abbruch einer gewachsenen Forschungstradition und eine dauerhafte Sc...

Please support the petition against the planned #closure of #Archaeology at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Archaeology has been a part of Humboldt-Universität academic tradition for almost 200 years, so closing it would break a long-standing research tradition

weact.campact.de/petitions/sc...

Hooray! Hope you have a wonderful visit.

Weather can absolutely influence whether you enjoy a site or not and I’m sorry you’ve only seen Pompeii in the extremes. Normally it’s a very well behaved and utterly beautiful site!

The view up a back street of pompeii leading from left to right and ending with a white travertine public fountain. The sky is blue and the few puffy white clouds seem lined up in an oblique line to mirror the perspective of the road

Such a perky little day to be on site. #Pompeii

Something I am grateful for every day.

View of Vesuvius looming over the Porta Nocera gateway of Pompeii with the paved road wending its way into the city. Above clouds gather and lit bright orange melting into shades of pink. The same hues illuminate the stones of Pompeii

Close up of the Nocera gateway into Pompeii drenched in pink lighting. The same hues seen on the clouds above Vesuvius in the background

No light quite like that produced against gathering clouds after a day of sunshine. The pinky-hues drenching the road paving and walls of Pompeii are magical.

Incredibly exciting to watch this room being fully revealed. I adore the almost romantic pairing of peacock to peahen - I would have put money on there being two more peacocks. Brilliant.

Pretty darn gorgeous!

Fragments of fresco retrieved during excavations of one the peahens striding along the yellow cornice against a backdrop of a colonnade.

Two excavators digging the other half of the peacock room in Oplontis. Behind them the facing wall being revealed and the fresco that mirrors the known wall coming to light. One of the peahens can be seen in situ on the the left side above a panel of bright red.

The excavation site from above showing where the excavators are working in the foreground in relation to the known half of the peacock room behind the hoarding in the background.

The peacock from the well known peacock room in Oplontis. It stands on the yellow cornice with its tail draped over the edge. Behind it the colonnade painted in perspective.

An undeniably emotional experience seeing the other half of the ‘peacock room’ in Oplontis being excavated and meeting their counterparts: the two peahens that graced the facing wall. What a delightfully playful idea by the artist.
Compliments to my colleagues, excavators & conservators. Spectacular

Totally Chaotic History: Roman Britain Gets Rowdy Tue 17 Feb 2026, 3pm Be astounded by unbelievable and hilarious facts as bestselling author Greg Jenner takes us on a riotously fun journey through Roman Britain Www.southbankcentre.co.uk

For half-term, next Tuesday I’m doing a fun kids’ event at @southbankcentre.bsky.social in London — I’ll be doing a funny talk on the history of Roman Britain, and my ace illustrator @rikinparekh.bsky.social will do a live draw-along tutorial

Tix cheap!

www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/tot...

Awww, thank you! It was such a lovely experience, in spite of the searing heat, with Alice on site.

Thank you. Happened to be passing…

You do! In fact I was trying to look some of the boats up and failed to find them in a couple of go-to sources. Strange.

A sliver of light illuminates the ribbed stucco relief of the barrel vault and decorative cornice as well as a small patch of the red plaster and a decorative pilaster. The rest of the room is shrouded in darkness.

A chink of light falls across the wall of the caldarium (hot room) in the women’s section of the Stabian baths in #Pompeii.

Welcome back! Apologies for the 3-seasons-in-a-day type weather but hope you do get to see the remaining area of the site.
As for the Purple Turtle… blimey - haven’t heard that name in a while! But who is this denizen? Shall message.

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Then, in addition, what to make of the woman who is seated? I look forward to your interpretation. But in my mind there is always room for these women to be working rather than being clientele.

Ah, apologies. I’ve not come across anything specific about this fresco in that context, but that’s not to say it doesn’t exist! I’ve wondered whether the seemingly well dressed woman on the left is a client collecting her items or someone related to overseeing work in the fullery. Hope the latter!

I’m pretty sure @mikoflohr.bsky.social has addressed it in one of his brilliant papers on the subject of fulleries. But isn’t it simply depicting the drying racks with garments being dried and someone is handling a carding brush. This side of the pilaster also has the fresco of drying press.

Good grief, it’s like glimpsing inside the blood pumped innards and organs of a wall.

🥳 Normality (of sorts) returns!

On the right a vestige of a Roman wall slightly spotlit by the sun and beyond it vegetation of different shades of green, yellow, brown, and red. In the background Vesuvius looms.

Hello old friend. Good to be back. #Pompeii #Vesuvius

Ahhh so true! I’d forgotten about this little gem (although it is still a bit from an angle judging by the visible roofline). For the record, I think the fresco is genuine. And utterly, utterly glorious.

Hooray for you! I’ve seen it up close and it really looked convincing but I was so in awe maybe that clouded my vision!

The figures are divine! Much talk of authenticity but I hope it’s genuine! It’s a delight and as you say the perspective could just be a single point….

You are not the first or the last to question its authenticity! Is it too good to be true? Perhaps! I’m staying positive as it was most likely looted and stayed in a private collection until recently so it’s not well known at all. It’s on display for the first time in Capri.

Fresco from Boscoreale (Villa of Fannius Synistor) of an edicule with an altar in front of a building with an entrance closed off by a wooden screen.

Fresco from Oplontis showing an ornate gateway and including a central vanishing point - the colonnades of columns disappear to a central point behind the circular building.

Fresco from Oplontis with an ornate building viewed from the front with perspective elements

But as many are already discussing: is it too good to be true? Is it a fake? Perhaps.

However, architectural perspective is well known in Roman frescoes especially of the Second Style and that includes those with a central vanishing point.
First image: www.metmuseum.org/it/art/colle...

Detail of the upper part of the temple showing the Corinthian capitals, the relief in the pediment and the decorative figures adorning the edge of the pediment.

Detail of the screen with lattice work that sits behind the first colonnade.

The offerings being burnt on the altar with a quirky shadow falling on the steps - perhaps not the artist’s finest hour.

The fresco is relatively unknown since it was one of the many antiquities seized from collector Robin Symes and returned to Italy - it seems to be a looted fresco hence its unknown provenance. Thought to be from the Vesuvian area and is in the Second Style (~50 BC).

Fresco of a facade of a Roman temple. A short flight of steps leading up to a portico with Corinthian columns. Between the double colannade is a decorated wooden barrier with lattice work and a spiky top. The wooden doors to the temple are closed. The pediment contains a painted relief. In front of the steps is an ornate altar on which offerings burn.

Possibly the most sublime Roman fresco of a temple.
The architectural detail of the spiky-topped wooden barrier, the painted relief in the pediment, & the offerings burning on the altar; it’s a symphony of observations.
Archaeological Museum of Capri (no provenance)
#FrescoFriday

And likewise for me! Taking people around Pompeii and sharing in the awe and wonder is the best feeling. Got it in bucket loads from both of you!