Archaeologists discover 'extremely violent' drawings by children in Pompeii [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

The sketches are bleived to depict events the children had witnessed, rather than imagined

Crispian Balmer
Reporting by Matteo Negri
2 days ago

Archaeologists have uncovered charcoal sketches drawn by children in Pompeii, depicting possibly violent fights they may have witnessed.

The sketches of gladiator stick figures were discovered during excavations in recent months in Pompeii, a once-thriving city that was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago.



Cave drawings in Pompeii depict gladiators Courtesy of Pompeii Archaeological Park (Pompeii Archaeological Park)

Archaeologists also found the outlines of three small hands, two figures playing with a ball, a hunting scene possibly featuring a boar, and two fighters, one of whom is lying flat on the ground.

The director of the site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said the naive line drawings, found on the wall of a house known as the “Colonnaded Cenacle”, were probably done by children aged six or seven.



Cave drawing of a small hand (left) and human figures (right) uncovered in Pompeii (Pompeii Archaeological Park)

Psychologists from the Federico II University in Naples believed the sketches depicted events the children had witnessed, rather than imagined, he said.

More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/pompeii-naples-children-drawings-archaeology-b2554293.html