A 2,000-year-old love message and a drawing depicting a gladiator fight are among a series of ancient inscriptions recently revealed on a wall in Pompeii, according to an announcement by the archaeological park this week.
Often described as the graffiti of the ancient world, the inscriptions include accounts of everyday life, sporting events, emotions, and personal insults. They were carved into a passageway linking Pompeii’s theatre district with one of the city’s main roads. Although the wall itself was excavated more than 230 years ago, around 300 inscriptions remained unnoticed until advances in modern technology made them visible.
The rediscovery formed part of a research initiative known as Corridor Rumors, led by Louis Autin and Éloïse Letellier-Taillefer of Sorbonne University in Paris, alongside Marie-Adeline Le Guennec of the University of Quebec in Montreal, in collaboration with the Pompeii Archaeological Park. The team carried out two phases of investigation, first in 2022 and again in 2025, using a combination of archaeological methods and digital imaging techniques to bring the long-hidden messages back to light.
From left, a gladiator fight scene etched into a wall in ancient Pompeii, and researchers' rendering of the illustration.
“One inscription reads, ‘I’m in a hurry; take care, my Sava—make sure you love me!’” the archaeological park reported, adding that the writings “bear witness to the vibrancy, diversity of interactions, and forms of social life that flourished in a public space frequently used by the people of ancient Pompeii.”
Pompeii was once a thriving Roman city in what is now southern Italy, before it was engulfed by volcanic ash and pumice during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The disaster preserved the city in extraordinary detail, effectively freezing it in time. Today, Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, drawing large numbers of visitors and continuing to yield new insights through ongoing archaeological research.
Ancient inscriptions have been uncovered on a wall in Pompeii.
“Technology is the key that unlocks new spaces in the ancient world, and those spaces must be shared with the public,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the archaeological park, in a statement on the recent discoveries. He explained that work is underway on a project to safeguard and enhance Pompeii’s inscriptions, which number more than 10,000 across the site and represent an extraordinary cultural legacy. Zuchtriegel added that only through the use of technology can this vast record of everyday life in Pompeii be preserved for the future.
