By Alessandra Cardone
ROME, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A whole alley was uncovered during recent excavations in a new area of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, south of Naples, Italian cultural authorities said on Thursday.
The discovery was part of the Great Pompeii Project, which overall involves an area of about 66 hectares never explored before.
"The latest discovery concerns a 1,400-square-metre area that was never uncovered, although we have found traces of incomplete attempts of excavation carried out in the eighteenth century," director general of the Archaeological Park Massimo Osanna told Xinhua.
The new remains consists of a short hallway, with four balconies on the upper floor of a building still almost intact.
"This is the most interesting element: the four balconies are in a row, and appear very well preserved, not only with colors intact but with some furniture," Osanna said.
Decorations included geometrical draws of flowers and animals in "Pompeian" bright red.
"Their original hues are vivid, and not damaged by atmospheric agents nor changed by previous restoration works, since they were left buried until now," the director explained.
Balconies represented a true rarity for the dynamics of conservation of Pompeii, the management of the park also stressed in a statement.
Upper stores have seldom been found among the ruins of the ancient town, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD, and buried under 4 to 6 meters of ashes and volcanic materials.
The new excavation in the alley of balconies started at the beginning of 2018. Archaeologists uncovered remains of the roofing in tiles, along with intact wine jars probably left to dry on the parapets, which "were used as a depot at the time", according to the director.
The new area would now be restored and returned to the public as part of a new route for visitors.
Earlier this month, the complete remains of a horse were found to the north of the walls surrounding Pompeii's ancient town. The discovery was said to be "extraordinary" since it allowed reconstructing the complete line of a horse for the first time in the archaeological area.
The skeleton of a child of an estimated age of 7-8 was also unearthed in Pompeii's central baths in late April.
Along with Herculaneum -- another ancient Roman town buried by the Vesuvius in 79 AD -- Pompeii's archaeological park was classified as UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
It is among the most popular touristic attractions in Italy, registering an average 2.5 million visitors every year, according to the management.
