# Archaeologists discover Roman cupboard with 38 coins and amulets at Pompeii

- Published: 2026-11-07 05:39 UTC
- Section: Science › Research
- Tags: Pompeii cupboard, Regio IX excavation, Roman coins Nero, crepundia amulets, Mount Vesuvius 79 AD
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-e74815335899586d5e99a92c_archaeologists_discover_roman/

**Excavations in Regio IX revealed an intact wooden cabinet buried during the 79 AD eruption containing personal artifacts and currency.**

![Archaeologists discover Roman cupboard with 38 coins and amulets at Pompeii](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/40d6db6a5634c0f2.jpg)
*Earth.com*

Archaeologists working in the Regio IX sector of Pompeii unearthed a large wooden cupboard preserved in volcanic ash inside a house traditionally linked to Cornelius Maximus [1]. According to pompeiisites.org, the piece of furniture had remained sealed since the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The discovery occurred during safety stabilization work along an alley near the Insula dei Casti Amanti, where back rooms behind Via dell’Abbondanza were systematically cleared. Inside the cabinet, researchers documented domestic utensils, cosmetic tools, commercial weights, currency, and childhood pendants.

## Daily tools and currency

The structure had two sections, each measuring roughly 2 meters in length, anchored to the floor by iron fixtures. When pyroclastic flows penetrated the room, the cabinet collapsed partially but preserved its contents. Researchers retrieved glass, bronze, and ceramic vessels, including five jugs, cooking pots, a bronze lamp, an incense burner, and an ointment flask. Hygiene and cosmetic items included bronze tweezers and a slate palette (*coticula*) used to grind pigments [1].

Beside a small wooden box containing eight lead weights, excavators found the remains of a woven vegetable-fiber basket holding 38 bronze coins [1]. Two coins represented earlier issues, including a piece from Ebusus and a Claudius sestertius struck for Germanicus. The remaining 36 coins date to the reign of Nero between 64 and 67 AD, comprising 26 asses, seven dupondii, and three sestertii, representing funds for day-to-day spending.

## Protective charms and environmental remains

On a middle shelf damaged by a fallen beam, the team found a degraded cloth pouch holding 24 small amulets known as *crepundia* [1]. Made of bone, faience, glass paste, and rock crystal, these suspension pieces depict figures such as Bes and Mercury alongside hands, feet, pine cones, and a knucklebone. Romans gave these rattling charms to children for protection, though adults often retained them into maturity as keepsakes.

In an adjoining bedroom loft, researchers sieved an olive oil amphora, recovering 117 small skeletal elements belonging to at least two immature wood mice (*Apodemus*). Post-eruption tunnels disturbed parts of the space, but undisturbed ash pockets preserved organic profiles. Further specialized analyses of the recovered textile fragments remain underway.

## Sources

1. [pompeiisites.org](https://pompeiisites.org/e-journal-degli-scavi-di-pompei/lo-scavo-di-una-domus-nellinsula-ix-11-il-rinvenimento-di-un-armarium-con-crepundia/)
2. [Earth.com](https://www.earth.com/science/pompeii-cupboard-charms-coins-mice)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-e74815335899586d5e99a92c_archaeologists_discover_roman/