Pompeii’s Ancient Art of Textile Dyeing Is Revived to Show Another Side of Life Before Eruption

A detail of a fresco showing a sea battle framed in Pompeii red topped by a basket and a mask that decorates the living room of house of the Vetti, in one of the wealthiest homes in Pompeii, the House of the Vetti, in the Pompeii archeological site, Italy, on Dec. 7, 2023. Andrew Medichini/AP Photo

POMPEII, Italy—A new project inside the Pompeii archaeological site is reviving ancient textile dyeing techniques to show another side of daily life before the city was destroyed by a volcano in A.D. 79

The inspiration comes from frescoes unearthed inside the archaeological site that show winged cupids dyeing cloth, gathering grapes for wine, and making perfumes.