# Seeing the Writing on the Wall at Pompeii (Thanks to New Photographic Techniques), or, More Graffiti about Sex and Gladiators

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-in-the-ancient-near-east-3467259/seeing-the-writing-on-the-wall-at-pompeii-thanks-to-new-photographic-techniques-or-more-graffiti-about-sex-and-gladiators
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-in-the-ancient-near-east-3467259/seeing-the-writing-on-the-wall-at-pompeii-thanks-to-new-photographic-techniques-or-more-graffiti-about-sex-and-gladiators.md
Podcast: [This Week in the Ancient Near East](https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-in-the-ancient-near-east-3467259)
Published: 2026-05-18T11:24:47+00:00
Episode link: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/seeing-the-writing-on-the-wall-at-pompeii-thanks-to-new-photographic-techniques-or-more-graffiti-about-sex-and-gladiators/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/6mcgvaw89gxqqicg/podcast_139_-_5_17_26_1242_PM7pt01.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2398

## Resource

New photographic techniques have shown that that walls in Pompeii were covered with graffiti, including pictures of gladiator fights, lewd poetry, and inscriptions in non-local languages like Safaitic. So sort of like New York City subways in the 1970s. Who says the past doesn’t repeat itself?

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