It's been centuries since a small, unassuming portrait was seen in its original detail.

Thanks to a multi-disciplinary network of archaeologists, art historians, and chemists, the nameless woman's image can be seen more clearly.

Found in the small town of Herculaneum was a small, circular image of a woman's face. Her portrait was found to the right of a door that opened into a network of rooms. Herculaneum suffered a fate similar to that of Pompeii when life was brought to a standstill when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. Until the early 20th century the house that contained the painting had been hidden by soot and ash. Ironically, the excavations that began 70 years ago may have begun the