The four wheel carriage was made of bronze, iron, and tin. Archaeologists found it in a very well preserved state in the portico to the stables of a Civita Giuliana villa, not too far north of the city. Another dig there had, in 2018, found the remains of three horses.

Looters in the area have long succeeded by digging tunnels into the famed ruins at Pompeii in order to steal away artifacts to sell. The archaeologists found the ceremonial carriage in an area that looters had, for whatever reason, ignored.

Mount Vesuvius, in one of its many eruptions, buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash on August 24, 79. The towns remained hidden until the 16th Century.

Officials said that, since excavations began in 1750, they had covered about two-thirds of the town, the size of which is estimated at 165 acres.