A beige stone rectangular basin is seen in the centre of a room, with red pillars around the outside of it. Metal scaffolding is seen around the bath.

Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried by ash and lava in AD 79, has unearthed a new treasure — a private bathhouse built 2,000 years ago, decorated with sumptuous mosaics and equipped with a series of hot, warm and cold rooms in the manner of a spa.