Crossroads Roundup: Major Discoveries at Pompeii and El Caño, Helpful Hazelnuts, and an Update on Garisenda Tower

Our favorite stories on art, archaeology, folklore, and more from this past week.

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© Pompeii Archaeological Park

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Archaeologists have discovered a beautiful fresco in Pompeii.

The fresco depicts the Greek myth of Phrixus and Helle—siblings who escape their stepmother’s murderous plot when their birth mother’s spirit sends a ram with golden fleece to rescue them. In their flight, Helle falls off the ram and drowns in the sea. (This is the scene depicted in the fresco.) Phrixus survives and marries the daughter of King Aeëtes, who receives the golden fleece in tribute.

As Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, poignantly observed, “It is a beautiful fresco in an excellent state of conservation. The myth of Phrixus and Helle is widespread at Pompeii but it is topical too. They are two refugees at sea, a brother and sister, forced to flee because their stepmother wants rid of them and she does so with deception and corruption. She [Helle] fell into the water and drowned.”