The carriage’s intricate decorations include metal medallions depicting satyrs, nymphs and cupids

Archaeologists found the vehicle near the stable of a Roman dwelling in Civita Giuliana, a suburb about a half mile northwest of Pompeii. Featuring a seat with metal armrests and backrests, it was supported by four iron wheels and boasted ornate decorations, including bronze and tin medallions depicting satyrs, nymphs and cupids.

“This is an extraordinary discovery that advances our understanding of the ancient world,” Mᴀssimo Osanna, interim director of the park, tells Reuters.

View of the well-preserved Roman chariot

View of the well-preserved Roman chariot’s iron wheels

The chariot is the first of its kind unearthed in its entirety, reports Colleen Barry for the ᴀssociated Press (AP). Though experts have previously discovered vehicles used for everyday activities like transportation, the recently found example was too ornate for such purposes. Instead, the team speculates that ancient Romans used it for festivals, parades, weddings and other ceremonial events.

“I was astounded,” Eric Poehler, an archaeologist at the University of Mᴀssachusetts Amherst who specializes in the traffic of Pompeii, tells Becky Sullivan of NPR.

“Many of the vehicles I’d written about before … are your standard station wagon or vehicle for taking the kids to soccer. This is a Lamborghini. This is an outright fancy, fancy car.”

Excavations at Civita Giuliana began in 2017 in response to the discovery of illicit activity, including looters’ creation of a more than 250-foot network of tunnels.

“The fight against the looting of archaeological sites, both inside and outside the urban area of ancient Pompeii, is certainly one of the primary objectives,” says Chief Prosecutor of Torre Annunziata Nunzio Fragliᴀsso in a press video, as quoted by Valentina Di Donato and Eoin McSweeney of CNN.

Luckily, notes the AP, the looters’ tunneling just missed the newly discovered cart, “grazing but not damaging

The chariot is adorned with depictions of nymphs, satyrs and cupids.

Detail of chariot decoration

In 2022, excavations at the stable across from the double-level portico where the chariot was stored revealed the well-preserved remains of three horses, including one that was still saddled and harnessed.