Pompeii

Friday March 11, 2011 Day 254

We hopped a fast train south for Napoli this morning, then transferred to another, more local train for a trip to Pompeii. The entrance to the ruins is a very short distance from the train station, so we walked there, bought our tickets, rented our audio guides, then exited the site area to eat some lunch, as it was already 11:30 and we didn’t know how long we would spend in Pompeii. We ate just across the road from the entrance to Pompeii, and outside the little restaurant were lemons and oranges for sale. There were lemons as large as grapefruit - I wish we had gotten a photo, but we didn’t think of it; but they were absolutely humongous! After the usual mediocre meal at these sorts of tourist places, we returned to the site and entered the gates.

 The city of Pompeii is wondrous. The city was destroyed and completely buried during the catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. The eruption lasted two days and buried Pompeii under 12-20 feet of ash and pumice. As a result, the city was lost for more than 1,500 years before it was discovered and excavations begun in 1599. The objects buried beneath Pompeii were remarkably well-preserved for almost two thousand years. The lack of air and moisture allowed for the objects to remain underground with little to no deterioration, which meant that, once excavated, the site had a wealth of sources and evidence for analysis, giving remarkable detail into the lives of the Pompeiians. (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

My archeology friend says:  you can see 'opus mixtum' on the corner of the building
and opus reticulatum on the sides

Note the petal-shaped bricks.

A glimpse of some wall decor - we could not get closer.

The forum with Mount Vesuvius in the background

Floral detail on a door frame

One of many who died in the ashfall

A dog in the throes of death - not sure why the keep him in a cage -
do they thing he might escape?

Another victim trying to survive by covering his face.

Still another victim

 . . . and yet another victim

Beautiful brickwork wall

Chariot ruts in the street

Lovely mosaic tile floor

Texas influence far and wide. Is that a star to the left??



Wall decor in the entryway of a house

bout five or six years ago, Roger and I drove to Mobile to see a traveling exhibit of Pompeii, and I am, in retrospect, really glad we did. It helped me appreciate Pompeii even more. One of the things in the exhibit was a huge plexiglas tube about two feet in diameter filled with ash. The ash layers extended well above my head, probably for a total of twelve feet. It was a stunning visual image of just how much ash and debris covered Pompeii. Among the other items in the exhibit were casts of three or four people in various poses, apparently seeking relief from the falling ash, which apparently engulfed them and left them in their curled-up positions. Another cast was of a dog in agonizing death throes. I suspect that the museum in Napoli would house the same sort of exhibits, which give a much greater understanding and awe of the power of a volcano than do the stark, empty streets of Pompeii.

We left Pompeii around 4:00 for Naples, then took the slow train to Rome, arriving tired, cold and hungry. On the way home from the train station, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. One of the offerings on the menu was “mistreated” eggs.