January
21
/ 2026
New imaging technology has uncovered nearly 80 previously unseen bits of graffiti scratched into the plaster of a busy corridor in Pompeii - including a broken declaration of love that begins, “Erato loves…,” and a vulgar sex anecdote that would not be out of place in a modern public bathroom stall. What makes the find especially striking is that this wall was first excavated more than 230 years ago, and has been passed by countless visitors ever since, reports Reuters . The graffiti sit in a long passageway linking Pompeii’s theatre district to Via Stabiana, a social bottleneck where people lingered, chatted, and apparently carved thoughts into fragile plaster. Researchers documented around 300 inscriptions in total, including 79 that had
