The remains of a huge horse, found in a stable in a Pompeii villa, was unveiled to the media on Thursday.

Archaeologists made a plaster cast of the animal which still had its bronze and iron harness on. The horse appears to be surprisingly big, and probably belonged to a wealthy family.

The villa is located outside the walls of the city, north of the Pompeii archaeological park, in an area called Civita Giuliana.

It was found thanks to the illegal excavations of a group of tomb robbers, after an investigation conducted by Carabinieri police.

The villa and its stable were buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 AD, together with the city of Pompeii.