Discovery of a 'blue room' in Pompeii has archaeologists scratching their heads

After remaining buried and lost for nearly 2,000 years, an ornate "blue room" has now emerged from the ruins of Pompeii in excavation.

Thousands of years have passed since Mount Vesuvius erupted and left Pompeii in ruins, however, new and intriguing things continue to come up from the ancient archaeological site.

According to the Archaeological Parks of Pompeii's press release, the latest finding is an ornate "blue room" which has female figures carved on the cerulean-painted walls.

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Speaking to NBC News, site’s director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said that this is a “very unusual thing for Pompeii". He added that blue “was the most expensive colour” because it was difficult to make this colour.

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“You had to import it from Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean and beyond. So it was expensive, and if you wanted to have something in blue, you had to pay more. Red, yellow and black were much easier to produce because natural materials like stone and sand were widely available," he said.

The room's size was nearly 90 square feet and it was initially excavated during the Bourbon period (1813-1840) but was recently found and shown for the first time on May 27.

A shrine, a storage of sacred or a sacrarium?

The room was found in block No. 10 of Pompeii’s ninth section. This is that part of the town which has not been excavatedbefore after the region was destroyed in the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 79 A.D.

In a press release, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii stated that the room's walls are decorated with female figures which represent the four seasons along with portrayals of agriculture and sheep farming.

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It added that the room has been “interpreted as a sacrarium, a shrine devoted to ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects".

As per the experts, the room's pigment was particularly significant because "the colour blue found in this room rarely occurs in Pompeian frescoes and was generally used for elaborately decorated rooms."

It was understood that the rare blue room was either asacrarium or a Roman sanctuary "devoted to ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects".

In the room,archaeologists found 15 transport amphorae, or large vases, along with a set of bronze objects consisting of two jugs and two lamps.

(With inputs from agencies)