Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Archaeologists in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii near the city of Naples have uncovered charcoal sketches drawn by children as young as six years old, depicting possibly violent fights they may have witnessed.

The sketches of gladiator stick figures were discovered during excavations in recent months in Pompeii, a once-thriving city that was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago.

Archaeologists also found the outlines of three small hands, two figures playing with a ball, a hunting scene possibly featuring a boar, and two fighters, one of whom is lying flat on the ground.

The director of the site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said the naive line drawings, found on the wall of a house known as the “Colonnaded Cenacle”, were probably done by children aged six or seven.

Psychologists from the Federico II University in Naples believed the sketches depicted events the children had witnessed, rather than imagined, he said.

“In Pompeii, even young children were exposed to extreme violence between humans and between humans and animals in the sands of the ancient city’s amphitheatre,” Mr. Zuchtriegel said.

Other discoveries this week included a unique portrait of a hooded child with a small dog at his feet, found in the so-called “House of the Painters at Work”.

At the entrance of that house, the skeletons of a man and a woman were discovered, an elderly couple that had probably sought refuge in vain from the pumice and ash that rapidly overwhelmed the city during the volcanic eruption.

Last month, authorities in Pompeii revealed a black-walled dining hall with paintings inspired by the Trojan War, while in March, a building site was unearthed that shed light on ancient construction techniques.

Archaeologists, in collaboration with experts from National Museums Scotland (NMS) and Cardiff University, have revealed the existence of a Neolithic site in Holm on the main Orkney island. Remarkably, despite extensive damage inflicted by Victorian antiquarians more than a century ago, fragments of human bones have been successfully identified. Additionally, the dedicated efforts of local volunteers, in conjunction with students from the University of Central Lancashire, led to the discovery of pottery, stone tools, and a bone pin meticulously carved.

According to The BBC, these ruins are of an “incredibly rare” 5,000-year-old tomb. Despite the damage, the archaeologists have found 14 skeletons of men, women, and children. Archaeologists said the bodies had been carefully set out, and DNA and isotope analysis would show if they were relatives and where they were from.

The news portal further mentioned that the three-week excavation led by Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark of NMS and Cardiff’s Professor Vicki Cummings has revealed traces of a stone cairn 15m (49ft) in diameter, which had contained a 7 m-long (23ft) passage. The archaeologists said a stone chamber lay at the centre of the cairn, and this was surrounded by six smaller cells.

Dr Anderson-Whymark told The BBC, “This find is extremely exciting. Orkney is exceptionally rich in archaeology, but we never expected to find a tomb of this size in such a small-scale excavation.”

“It’s incredible to think this once impressive monument was nearly lost without record, but fortunately just enough stonework has survived for us to be able to understand the size, form, and construction of this tomb.”