A “once-in-a-century” discovery has been unearthed in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, after being buried under meters of volcanic rock and ash for 2,000 years.

Archaeologists have discovered a lavish private bathhouse – possibly the largest ever found – complete with hot and cold chambers, exquisite artwork and a huge plunge pool.

The spa-like complex sits at the center of a grand residence discovered during a major excavation over the past two years.

“These spaces are really part of the ‘Pompei effect’ – it’s like people left just a minute ago,” said Dr. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, who told ” Pompeii exclusively revealed the new discovery. BBC News.

Analysis of two skeletons found inside the house also sheds light on the fears Pompeii residents faced when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.

The bodies belonged to a woman between 35 and 50 years old who was holding jewelry and coins, and a young man in his late teens or early 20s.

They barricaded themselves in a small room but died when a tsunami of superheated volcanic gas and ash, called a pyroclastic flow, swept through the town.

Pompeii conservator Dr Ludovica Alesse said: “This is a dramatic place and everything you find here tells you about the drama.”

A third of the ancient city remains hidden beneath the catastrophic volcanic debris, but new excavations – the most extensive in a generation – have shed new light on ancient Roman life.

A documentary team from the BBC and Lion TV have been following archaeologists, filming a project called Pompeii: New Excavations.

Entire blocks of Pompeii have now been excavated, revealing laundries and bakeries, as well as large private residences. They are thought to have been owned by a wealthy man, possibly Aulus Rustius Verus, an influential politician in Pompeii.

Dr Zuchtriegel said the discovery of the bathhouse further confirmed his elite status.

“Only a handful of houses have private bathrooms, so this is really for the richest of the rich,” he said. “It was just huge – it was probably the largest bathroom in a private house in Pompeii.”

Those lucky enough to use the bathroom suite can undress in the dressing room, whose walls are vibrant and the mosaic floor is punctuated with geometric patterns inlaid with marble from across the Roman Empire.

They then head to the thermal room for a soak and enjoy the sauna-like warmth, with a suspended floor allowing hot air to flow underneath and a cavity in the walls through which heat can circulate.

Next, they move to a warm, brightly painted room where the oil is rubbed into the skin and then scraped off with a curved tool called a “strigil.”

Finally, they will enter the largest and most spectacular room – the cold room. Surrounded by red pillars and murals of athletes, visitors can cool off in a small pool, which is large enough to accommodate 20 to 30 people.

“On a hot summer day, you can sit in the water, chat with friends and maybe have a glass of wine,” Dr. Zuchtriegel said.

The bathroom is the latest discovery in this extraordinary house.

Last year a huge ballroom was discovered with dark walls and stunning artwork of classical scenes. A smaller, more private room – painted light blue – where the house’s residents would go to pray to the gods was also unearthed.

The home is undergoing renovations and tools and building materials are everywhere. In the blue room, a pile of oyster shells lie on the floor, ready to be ground up and attached to the wall to give them an iridescent glow.

Next door to this beautiful space, in a narrow room with almost no decorations, a grim discovery was made – the remains of two Pompeiiians who failed to escape the eruption.

A female skeleton was found on the bed, curled up in a fetal position. In the corner of the small room lay the body of a man.

Pompeii archaeologist Dr Sophie Hay explained: “The pyroclastic flow from Mount Vesuvius flowed along the street outside this chamber, causing the walls to collapse and essentially crush him to death.”

“When he was dying, the woman was alive – imagine the trauma – and then the room filled with the rest of the pyroclastic flow, and that’s how she died.”

Analysis of the male’s skeleton showed that despite his young age, his bones showed signs of wear, suggesting he was of lower status, perhaps even a slave.

The woman was older but her bones and teeth were in good condition.

“She was probably someone of higher social status,” Dr. Hai said. “She could be the homeowner’s wife or she could be the helper who was caring for his wife, we just don’t know.”

Various items – glassware, bronze pots and pottery – were found on the room’s marble table tops, which may have been brought into the room where the pair hid in the hope of waiting for the volcano to erupt.

But of particular interest were the items in the victims’ hands. The younger man was in possession of some keys, while the older woman was found carrying gold and silver coins and jewellery.

These artifacts are kept in Pompeii’s treasury along with other priceless artifacts from the city, and we had the opportunity to visit them with archaeologist Dr. Alessandro Russo.

The gold coins still sparkled like new and he showed us exquisite gold and natural pearl earrings, necklace pendants and intricately etched semi-precious stones.

Dr Russo said: “When we find objects like this, the distance between ancient and modern times disappears and we can touch a small part of the lives of these people who died in the eruption.”

Dr Sophie Hay described the private bath complex as a once-in-a-century discovery that also sheds more light on the darker side of Roman life.

Behind the hot cell is the boiler room. A pipe brought water from the street, some of which was siphoned into an icy plunge pool, while the rest was heated in lead boilers carried to hot rooms. The valves that regulate flow look very modern, as if you could open and close them even today.

Since there was a furnace underneath, conditions in this room would have been extremely hot for the slaves who had to keep the entire system running.

“The most powerful thing about these excavations is the stark contrast between the lives of slaves and the lives of very, very wealthy people. Here we see that,” said Dr Sophie Hay.

“The difference between the luxurious life in the bathhouse and the furnace room was that the slaves in the furnace room toiled all day feeding the fire.

“A wall can separate you into two different worlds.”

Excavations are in their final weeks, but new discoveries continue to emerge from the ash. A limited number of visitors are allowed during the excavation, but it will eventually be fully open to the public.

“Every day here is a surprise,” said Dr. Anna Onesti, director of the excavation.

“Sometimes I come to work in the morning thinking it’s a normal workday – and then I realize we’ve discovered something unusual.

“This was a magical moment in life at Pompeii and this excavation offers us the possibility to share this with the public.”