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Digital Imaging Exposes 79 New Graffiti in Pompeii’s Theatre Corridor

RTI outputs will support a 3D research platform launching this year for scholarly study.

Overview

  • An international team from the Sorbonne and the Université du Québec used Reflectance Transformation Imaging and photogrammetry to re-examine the corridor in field campaigns in 2022 and 2025.
  • The imaging detected over 300 graffiti elements and made 79 previously unreadable inscriptions newly legible to researchers.
  • Revealed content includes a record of sex involving a worker named Tychè, declarations of love, sharp insults, and a sketch of two gladiators.
  • The 27-metre Corridoio Teatri, first excavated in 1794, is a public passage between two theatres known for one of Pompeii’s densest clusters of graffiti.
  • The RTI dataset will underpin an online 3D annotation platform planned for 2026, and the park intends to add a protective cover, with the director noting more than 10,000 graffiti across Pompeii.