by Alice Philipson

A 2,000-year-old laundry where ancient Romans brought their brilliant white tunics to be dyed and washed was among six newly restored buildings in Pompeii opened to the public on Thursday. Spectacular brightly coloured frescoes and intricate mosaics were revealed across the walls and floors of almost all of the buildings, some of which were severely damaged by bombing during the Second World War.

But the laundry, painted in a deep red and decorated with frescoes of birds and ornamental vases, was the most highly anticipated of the restorations. In its day, the Fullonica di Stephanus, as it is officially known, was equipped with large baths for rinsing dirty tunics and stone basis for dyeing fabrics. There was a press for ironing and the laundry kept a supply of urine, which was collected in public urinals and then used to get out tough stains.

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Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/