Two Italian findings are among the five contenders for the "Palmyra" International Archeological Discovery Award, an annual international honor for the most significant find. The award, now in its twelfth year, recognizes breakthroughs made in 2025. It will be presented on Friday, October 30th, in Paestum. The first finalist is Pompeii’s House of the Thiasus. Excavations in insula 10 of Regio IX, one of the ancient city’s districts, uncovered a large banqueting hall. Its walls are adorned in "megalography", a gigantic mural featuring nearly life-size figures. The image represents the thiasus, a joyful parade of followers led by Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy, which inspired the house's name. The fresco is believed to have been created in the 1st century BC, specifically between 40 and 30 BC. The fourth side of the hall opened onto a garden, allowing guests to dine outdoors. The second contender is Vulci, an old Etruscan city in northern Lazio where the "Vulci Cityscape" project discovered a female head carved in Greek marble. It is a "kore", a form of statue of a young woman common in ancient Greek sculpture. The elaborate hairstyle can be traced back to an Attic workshop, in the Athens area, in the early fifth century BC. A Greek sculpture discovered on Etruscan land is a remarkable find that confirms the strong interactions between Greece and prehistoric Italy.