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 not previously been identified, according to a Pompeii Archaeological Park release.
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“Corridor whispers”: How tech revealed what eyes couldn’t
The project, described by Pompeii officials as Bruits de couloir (“corridor whispers”), used Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), a computational photography technique that photographs a surface under many different lighting angles, making faint scratches visible when processed digitally.
Researchers say the corridor was considered thoroughly documented, which is why the new results are so significant: they suggest more “hidden in plain sight” survives across the site than scholars assumed. They are also building a 3D platform combining photogrammetry, RTI data and epigraphic metadata so inscriptions can be visualized and annotated together.
Pompeii director Gabriel Zuchtriegel called the technique a way of “shedding new light on the ancient world,” adding that the park is working on protection plans for Pompeii’s immense corpus of graffiti - more than 10,000 inscriptions across the city.
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Graffiti revealed on a section of the wall of the corridor. (Pompeii Archaeological Park)
Love, insults, and the very rude parts of real life
The most talked-about line is the fragment “Erato amat…” (“Erato loves…”), a short sentence that is heartbreakingly incomplete because the plaster is damaged where the writing once continued. Even so, it sits alongside other emotional texts from the same corridor, including known inscriptions that read like private messages left in public space describes Artnet News.
Pompeii Park’s press material highlights examples of the corridor’s range -
Hurried affection:
“I’m in a hurry; take care, my Sava, make sure you love me!”
Declarations of love:
“Methe, (slave) of Cominia, of Atella, loves Cresto in her heart. May the Venus of Pompeii be favourable to both of them and may they always live in harmony”.
And everyday mockery, the kind of bodily humor that proves ancient people could be as childish as we are:
“Miccio-cio-cio, your father ruptured his belly when he was defecating; look at how he is Miccio!"
Some popular reporting goes further, describing a crude sexual anecdote involving a sex worker named Tyche, written with the bluntness of a street story rather than the polish of literature. It’s not elegant, but it is historically valuable, another reminder that Pompeii’s walls preserve ordinary voices, not just elite art, reports the Daily Mail.
Gladiators scratched from memory
Alongside words, the imaging also brought out pictures - most notably a faint drawing of two gladiators fighting, near a staircase leading up to seating in the neighboring theater. Although gladiator graffiti are common in Pompeii, observers noted this example’s sense of movement and confident line, suggesting it may have been drawn from memory by someone who had actually watched the games.
Images of gladiators fighting, a common theme in Roman graffiti. (Pompeii Archaeological Park)
That fits with other Pompeii evidence showing gladiators were a dominant “pop culture” obsession, even for children. Ancient Origins previously reported on charcoal wall drawings likely made by young children depicting gladiatorial scenes, suggesting violent spectacle seeped deep into everyday imagination.
Top image: The corridor behind the theatre in Pompeii, which has been reexamined for graffiti. Source: Pompeii Archaeological Park)
By Gary Manners
References
Pompeii Archaeological Park. 2026. Pompeii scenes of gladiators and love stories: snapshots of life emerge thanks to advanced technology. Available at: https://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/pompeii-scenes-of-gladiators-and-love-stories-snapshots-of-life-emerge-thanks-to-advanced-technology/
Balmer, C. 2026. Digital scans unveil new love notes and sketches on ancient Pompeii wall. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/science/digital-scans-unveil-new-love-notes-sketches-ancient-pompeii-wall-2026-01-19/
Buyukyildirim, O., 2026. 3D Technology Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Gladiator Graffiti and Love Messages in Pompeii. Available at: https://arkeonews.net/3d-technology-reveals-2000-year-old-gladiator-graffiti-and-love-messages-in-pompeii/
Mitchell, R. 2023. Pompeii’s Graffiti: An Ancient Form of Social Media (Video). Available at: /videos/pompeii-graffiti-0019680
Hunter, W., 2026. Archaeologists’ graffiti find in Pompeii includes a VERY rude sex story. Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15483421/Archaeologists-graffiti-Pompeii-rude-story.html
Lawson-Tancred, J., 2026. 3D Tech Reveals New Gladiator Graffiti in Pompeii. Available at: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/3d-tech-reveals-new-gladiator-graffiti-in-pompeii-2738381
