ROME (AFP).- Archaeologists have discovered a Pre-Roman era tomb in perfect condition at Pompeii, the team at the archaeological site buried in a 79AD volcanic eruption announced Monday. 

"Pompeii continues to be an inexhaustible source of scientific discoveries," Massimo Osanna, superintendent at the ancient city site, said in a statement. 

The tomb, unearthed by a team from the French Jean Berard Centre in Naples in southern Italy, dates back to the Samnite era, and is located at the Herculaneaum Gate at Pompeii.

The Samnites were a group of tribes involved in fierce battles with the Romans in the fourth century BC.

The tomb contained a number of vases and amphoras in perfect condition which give a rare insight into the funerary practices of that era in Pompeii.  

This discovery allows us "to carry out research on a historical period which has been relatively unexplored until now at Pompeii" said Osanna, an archaeologist who was appointed Pompeii's superintendent two years ago after great controversy over the state of maintenance at the vast site. 

"These excavations prove that the city of Pompeii is still alive and that we must preserve it as it continues to provide us with material for research," said Osanna. 

The ancient Roman city was frozen in time after Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24 79AD.

With 2.7 million visitors in 2014 it is the second most visited attraction in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome.  

Thousands of archaeologists and experts are currently working on excavation and restoration projects at the site.



© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse