Day 3 was most likely the coolest, most historical, unreal day of my life. I don't think I will ever go into a museum or walk across Boston, London, or Florence and feel as in awe as I did in Pompei.
IT WAS UNREAL!!!
Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. There were 20,000 people living in the city and they have only found 2,000 bodies. In the 18th century, in 1748, the King of Naples ordered a digging up of the city buried in ash. The marble was taken off the ground and all the walls of the buildings and used in building the Vatican. There was no archaeology at that time, so things weren't preserved as they should. There are about 500 bodies covered in plaster. I got to see a few of them. The archaeologists found the bones preserved inside chunks of rocks, and there was a hollow cavity where the body used to be. The skin decayed and the left over area was the exact shape of the body. The archaeologists found these and just drilled a hole and poured plaster of paris inside to mold to the bones. Only 2/3 of the city has been uncovered. Archaeologists are leaving the rest for future generations because the city is still decaying, and they want to keep some of it preserved for later.
Here's a few examples of why the Romans from 79AD were the smartest people everrr!!!
Exhibit A: First stepping stones. When it rained, the streets would fill up with water and the Romans, wearing sandals, did not want to get their feet dirty. So they cleverly placed these stones for people to cross the street. Ancient cross walk/stepping stones. They were also placed wide enough apart so that the two oxen pulling the carts could get between the stones. Genius.
Exhibit B: Light reflectors. The Romans wanted to be able to see where they were going at night so they placed white rocks which reflected the moon in the main streets to guide the way.
Exhibit C: Slightly inappropriate- An erection for direction. A giant weeny pointing to the nearest brothel. Don't worry, it was completely legal and not looked down upon in those days. They even made condoms out of lamb intestines!
Exhibit D: Brothel. The brothels had stone beds which did not move, they would place a mat on it and there were paintings on the walls showing each girl's specialty. The man could choose where he wanted to go and could even leave a comment on the wall. Ancient graffiti.
Exhibit E: Ancient Sex cards? It was very weird to look at these. They even had boy on boy action.... Romans were perfectly fine with bisexuality.
Exhibit F: Ancient welcome mat!!! How cool! I'd rather have a mosaic welcome mat than something tacky from Target!
Exhibit G: Ancient menu at the outdoor market. If one wanted dinner or groceries, he could look at the large paintings on the wall and see all the options. The colors are being faded by acid rain and the sun, so they used to be brighter. Romans also used perspective. This is a huge innovation because this concept of near and farness in art was lost, and not implemented again until the Renaissance which was in the 15th century. A good 14 hundred years later. How could a society loose this knowledge?
Exhibit H: Modern day N.Y.C. with shops and houses next to each other on each street.
Exhibit I: First pipe system. Romans had running water. They found lead in Britain and later went to conquer Britain so they could have as much lead as they wanted!
Beautiful Ruins.
The God Apollo in front of Mt. Vesuvius.
A pedastal that used to hold a statue of Venus. She is the goddess of protection. Some say that she did her job because Pompei was protected by ash and could be preserved for the observation for future generations.
Me in Pompei's biggest house. Wish I could live there!
mosaic of pigeons in the mansion!
These two pictures are from the largest house in Pompei. It is around 27,000 square feet. It would have had a roof, and an atrium that collected rain water and took it to the street. The house featured a bathroom, a study, and an outside garden for winters. There are also beautiful mosaics on the floor.
Wouldn't you like to have this statue in your atrium?
Or this mosaic war scene? A conversation piece of Alexander the Great.
How about a mosaic with a dog picture that says "beware of dog?" How smart!
A view from the forum (city center)
Buildings were covered in plaster and marble and were painted bright colors but are fading.
Left over columns.
Roomies!
Roomies in the center of the forum. It would have had marble floor and all the buildings would have been covered in marble. Mt. Vesuvius is behind us and is way overdue for an eruption! I'm glad I got to see it!
Preserved bodies. Archaeologists think that most of the citizens of Pompei evacuated because of the number of missing bodies. Many people stayed behind and died because of suffocating. Lava never reached the city, only ashes smothered. The second bottom picture in the middle is a dog that is in this position because he was tied up to his house. The dog is wearing a collar and could not escape because he was chained. Thats why the dog is in a contorted position, he was yearning to escape. the person on the right is sitting covering his mouth and nose.
Pregnant lady. We know she died by suffication because of the way she is covering her mouth. :(
Artifacts. We know they had scalpels and dentistry tools.
Pompei's bakery. The baker had actually been braking that day and had bread in the oven. Archaeologists found it and know that the bread is round and looks like it does today. Bad fate for the baker, good for us to study!
This is the mill where they ground the bread.
Amazing views! Pompei used to be a lot closer to the ocean than it is now.
Doggies reincarnated from Pompei dogs. Taking a break from the sun.
The outside city walls of Pompei!
Some breathtaking views of a history for all to see!
Ciao Pompei!!!
Where I got a gelato (stratiacella) which is vanilla with chocolate chunks and mint with huge chocolate chunks, after a long day of history absorbing in the sun. Thank you Bus2Alps for letting me affordingly see Sorrento, Capri, Positano, and Pompei!
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