YEARS OLD, WE GET AN EXCLUSIVE TOUR OF NEW DISCOVERIES IN THE
ANCIENT CITY OF
POMPEII.
HERE’S NBC’S KELLY
COBIELLA.
>> Reporter: TONIGHT A
RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE
DISTANT PAST.
>> SO THIS, OH, WOW,
THIS IS THE BLUE ROOM?
>> IT’S A VERY SPECIAL
THING.
>> Reporter: A
STUNNING ROOM HIDDEN
FOR CENTURIES UNDER
20 FEET OF VOLCANIC
DEBRIS REVEALED FOR
THE FIRST TIME.
>> IT’S SO VIBRANT.
>> Reporter:
ARCHEOLOGISTS THINK
IT’S A SHRINE COVERED
IN BREATHTAKING
FRESCOS AND WHERE
EGYPTIAN BLUE PAINT.
ON THE FLOOR, PILES OF
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
LEFT JUST AS THEY WERE
WHEN MOUNT VESUVIUS
ERUPTED NEARLY 2,000
YEARS AGO.
WHAT DID YOU THINK
WHEN YOU FIRST SAW THE
BLUE ROOM?
>> I WAS STUNNED.
>> YOU CAN SEE THESE
FINE DETAILS, EVIDENCE
THAT INCREDIBLE.
>> Reporter: THESE MIT
STUDENTS ON SITE,
USING SPECIALLY
ADAPTED NIGHT-VISION
GOGGLES AND HANDHELD
SCANNERS TO STUDY THE
NEW FINDS.
>> NOBODY’S REALLY
LOOKED AT THESE
MATERIALS BEFORE.
>> Reporter: THIS ROOM
ONE OF MANY RECENTLY
UNEARTHED IN THE
BIGGEST DIG IN A
GENERATION.
VAST BANQUET HALLS,
WORKING BAKERIES,
CHILDREN’S DRAWINGS,
ALL PRESERVED BY THE
VOLCANIC DEBRIS.
ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
BEEN DIGGING HERE MORE
THAN 200 YEARS.
IT’S THE MOST INTACT
EXAMPLE OF A ROMAN
CITY IN THE WORLD.
A THIRD OF IT IS STILL
BURIED, AND FINDING
THE ARTIFACTS IS ONLY
THE FIRST STEP.
>> YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE
THIS IS ALL BURIED
UNDER VOLCANIC
MATERIALS.
>> Reporter:
ARCHEOLOGISTS ARE
TRYING TO PUT THE
PUZZLE BACK TOGETHER.
THESE FRAGMENTS PART
OF A MAGNIFICENT
CEILING CRUSHED UNDER
THE WEIGHT OF VOLCANIC
ROCK.
>> IT’S NICE THAT
THESE THINGS REMAIN
MYSTERIES.
THERE IS ALWAYS
INTRIGUE.
I THINK THAT’S WHAT
KEEPS POMPEII ALIVE.
>> Reporter: ALWAYS A
MASSIVE JIGSAW PUZZLE?
>> ABSOLUTELY, YEAH.
>> Reporter: THE PAST