Pompeii Lives On

When we saw that our boat stopped in Naples! we knew that we had to do a tour of Pompeii. This was the legendary ancient city where people were frozen in a layer of ash after the eruption of the Mt. Vesuvius. Our tour guide said Pompeii is the most visited site in the world, next to the Vatican (not sure if we beleive her, but it does exceed expectations!).

 

I had heard that the eruption caught people by surprise, so I somehow expected that there would be whole families at the dinner table frozen forever in that position. Although this is not true, frozen bodies were a large part of the wonder of Pompeii. There were a handful of bodies on display that suffocated in ash and then decomposed leaving a cavity in the hardened ash. Archaeologists excavated, found these cavities and poured plaster in them, preserving the shape of the bodies. 6 or 7 of these body moulds were on display in glass cases, most in a lying position, covering their faces or in other positions indicating agony - it was quite chilling. On some of them you could even see the shape of clothes or a belt indicating a slave. You can imagine the panic and fear, seeing a huge cloud of volcanic ash descending on the city quicker than they could escape, knowing death was inevitable.

 

 

What I didn't expect was how well the city was preserved. The eruption occurred in 97 AD, but because the city was buried under ash for 1600 years (excavation began in the 18th century), almost the whole city is well preserved, except the roofs. There was a house of a rich family with beautiful mosaics on the floors that can still be seen. It was so well preserved that you can tell what each room is designed for. The design of the city was interesting - it's a grid like many of our cities today. There is a huge square in the centre of town and you can clearly see the huge political and economic buildings.

(above, Julia is walking the local crosswalk on raised stones because of the often wet and dirty streets.)

 

What was amazing to hear was that there were earthquakes foreshadowing the eruption for 17 years. These earthquakes caused significant damage and each time, the citizens rebuilt their buildings and carried on with their lives. I'm not sure if they had any idea what the earthquakes meant, but after dozens of significant earthquakes you would think the citizens would leave for safer pastures. They didn't, and what we see today is the result. It's amazing how we can convince ourselves we're invincible in order to assuage the fear of dying even when death is imminent. The citizens of Pompeii lived good lives in a successful trading town in a beautiful location, so they didn't want to leave. Citizens of New Orleans refused to leave when Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on them. Another sad example of history repeating itself.

- Andy