Pompeii was a city in southern Italy that flourished during the Roman Empire . In the year 79 AD a nearby volcano, Vesuvius, flooded the city with lava and ash, preserving it for the next 2,000 years. It is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world .
Pompeii was a normal city, without any special importance. It became a Roman community in 91 BC. and for the next 150 years many wealthy Romans built their houses here, enjoying the climate on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. This location only had one drawback:the city was dominated by Mount Vesuvius, a volcano . However, this did not worry its inhabitants too much, who had never seen it erupt. In 62 BC, Vesuvius rumbled and Pompeii was shaken and damaged by a strong earthquake. Seventeen years later there were more earthquakes in the region, but the people of Pompeii ignored them and went on with their lives.
Eruption of Vesuvius
On August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted . A violent explosion of hot volcanic ash and dust, small bits of pumice stone, and large chunks of lava fell suddenly on Pompeii like rain. In the streets the air filled with poisonous smoke and the sky darkened. Some people tried to protect themselves, others ran for their lives as the city was buried under five meters of ash and lava. When these volcanic remains solidified, they sealed off much of the city. Survivors fled as other eruptions took place in the region; the nearby city of Herculaneum was also leveled by lava.
Pompeii had disappeared. First it was buried and then it was forgotten, although in later centuries the people of the region spoke of the «lost city »and they found pieces of pottery and other ancient remains . In 1594 workers working on an aqueduct in the region found buildings in ruins. Then, in 1709, a local farmer found large slabs of marble while he was digging a well. With this the treasure hunt began, so surely many valuable objects were unearthed and taken to other places. Thirty years later, an engineer named Rocco Alcubierre used more powerful tools and gunpowder to tunnel through the solid lava. He immediately found wall paintings and the steps of an amphitheater.
Keep a record
For more than 100 years, people who visited the site were only interested in finding precious objects. It was in 1860 when Giuseppe Fioreli took control of the excavation. He began to investigate the city block by block, taking and keeping careful notes of everything he found at the site. . He numbered each door so that each house or store could be identified. Whenever possible, he left things where he found them, to make it easier to get a sense of the whole community. Since then excavations have continued regularly despite occasional stops.
Large amount of data on the events of the year 79 AD. they are known thanks to the writings of Pliny the Younger, who was in the nearby city of Misena. His uncle, Pliny the Elder, commanded the fleet that rushed to rescue the survivors and had a close-up view of the volcanic eruption. Pliny the Elder was overtaken on the beach by smoke and died there.
Now about three-quarters of the city has been unearthed and the modern visitor can get an idea of what daily life was like in Pompeii. Buildings have been restored, with roofs rebuilt, and scientists have identified and preserved seeds of many plants and replanted the gardens enjoyed by Pompeians .
At the time of the eruption there were three public baths in Pompeii, in which men and women could bathe and relax. Some wealthy citizens owned their own luxurious baths at home. There were two theaters:a large, open one that could seat around 5,000 spectators, and a smaller, closed one for concerts and recitals. The amphitheater, where gladiators fought and killed each other as well as wild animals, is also completely excavated.
In 79 AD, the port gate of the walled city of Pompeii was located just 500 meters from the Bay of Naples. The eruption released ash and lava into the bay, raising the level of the seabed so that today Pompeii is 2 kilometers inland. This demonstrates the force of the disaster that buried a city and created a unique archaeological site.
Pompeii plasterpersons
Giuseppe Fiorelli found many skeletons during his excavation of the lava at Pompeii . He, too, was quick to notice that the victims' bodies had left holes in the ash and pumice, hardened before the bodies and clothing had disintegrated over the years. These holes were like the molds used by sculptors and Fiorelli found an ingenious system to fill them and make copies of the bodies.
He would pour liquid plaster into a hole and, when it had hardened, remove the surrounding lava to reveal the plaster cast. This was a detailed copy of the person, sometimes retaining expressions of fear or agony on the victim's face. Casts were made of people and animals, including a dog that was chained up and couldn't escape . Many of the victims were trying to cover their faces with their hands or clothes while they were drowning. Molds of doors, shutters, and even tree roots were also made.
In total, some 2,000 bodies have been found in Pompeii out of a total population of 20,000 people . Many citizens must have managed to escape the catastrophe by fleeing to nearby land, but there may still be more bodies to discover.