Pompeii Archaeological Park said on October 29, 2026, that archaeologists had identified the remains of a wooden cupboard in a house on Via dell’Abbondanza in central Pompeii. The team described a necklace of at least 24 amulets, household vessels and 38 bronze coins among its contents.
The cupboard can be reconstructed from traces documented during excavation, the park said. Its contents provide evidence of domestic life before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
Inscriptions have led to a tentative association between the house and Cornelius Maximus, but the identity of its residents remains uncertain.
“We cannot reconstruct with certainty the identity of whoever lived in the house, but these fragments bring us closer to their daily life,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel of Pompeii Archaeological Park.
Amulets and household objects
Researchers identified the necklace’s pieces as crepundia, amulets made from bone, glass paste, faience and rock crystal. The team described depictions of the gods Bes and Mercury, alongside miniature hands, feet, pinecones and bunches of grapes.
Researchers interpret the necklace as a possible child’s protective amulet. They suggest its rattling may also have helped caregivers keep track of a youngster, although its specific use remains uncertain.
The team also identified tweezers, a small glass bottle for perfume or ointment, an incense burner and cooking vessels. Other containers were made of bronze, glass and ceramic.
Lead weights were found in a small wooden box, while a woven container held the 38 bronze coins, the researchers said. They consider the weights compatible with trading activity, although their precise function remains uncertain.
“Pompeii is not just a place of great works of art,” Zuchtriegel said. “It is also a place where the most ordinary objects restore the human dimension of the past,” he added.