Experts digging through the remains of one of Pompeii’s largest villas claim to have identified its owner thanks to the discovery of graffiti left by a mischievous young girl.

Excavations at the buried site, just outside the walls of the Roman city, turned up stables complete with the remains of horses, a large terrace with sea views and sprawling quarters with brightly coloured frescoes — but no one knew to whom it belonged. The mystery may have been solved by the discovery of the word “Mummia” scratched twice in a child-like style into the paintwork of a wall, a likely reference to the wealthy family of that name who gave ancient Rome politicians, playwrights and consuls including Lucius Mummius, who conquered Greece in 146BC.