The House of Thiasus got its name from the “thiasos,” or sacred procession, of Dionysus. The fresco matches the Second Style of Pompeian wall painting, which was prevalent between the 40s and 30s BC. This means the painting had already existed for over a century when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD buried it under ash and pumice.

Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered rare, nearly life-sized frescoes that offer fresh insight into religious practices in the ancient city before it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, the site said on Wednesday.

A century before the ancient city’s destruction, artists adorned the walls of a Pompeii banquet hall with a procession of Dionysian revelers. Brightly colored and nearly life-sized, the newly identified fresco figures dance,