Pompeii forum in the evening (lighting in front of the granaries).
On Wednesday, we continued our run into the really accident world with a visit to Pompeii. Buried under ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the city was forgotten until being rediscovered in the 1700s. Excavations and restorations have been going on since. However, the city itself was established around 600 BC with lots of refurbs and upgrades taking place around 200 BC. All of this to say that everything we saw was over 1,900 years old, and in some cases well over 2,200 years old.
City entrance up from the harbour.The forum (main city square).A bit more sense of scale of the forum. Mount Vesuvius is in the background. Note the two "peaks"; prior to the 79 AD eruption the mountain had a classic "cinder cone" volcano shape (visualise it by extending the outside slopes up to meet in the middle). The eruption blew the entire top of the mountain, all of which then fell in the surrounding area (after exploding 12 miles in the air).
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Down a side street.On a raised zebra crossing. Standard-gauge chariot wheels passed between the stones, which allowed pedestrians to avoid the water used to flush the streets. Three stones is a major thoroughfare, two a two-way street and one a single lane street.One of the many public wells/fountains scattered throughout the city. This had one of the most intact carved water outlets.Some foreigners making the most of the shade for a quick apple break.One of the public baths.Surviving carved reliefs at the baths.
At the time of the eruption, the city was home to about 20,000 people. About 18,000 are thought to have escaped the destruction. Some of those who remained left voids in the solidified ash as their bodies decomposed. Upon excavation, some of the voids were filled with plaster as a cast of what had been covered.
Plaster cast at the baths of one of the victims of Mount Vesuvius.
We did most of our day (mostly) following a free audio guide A had downloaded the day before (thanks Rick Steves). While it by no means covered the whole city, we covered its intended 3 hour route in about 4.5 hours. This gave us some great insight into what we were seeing and helped us find some of the interesting sights.
Inside a market area.A bit of sketching. Some of it was even of Pompeii.F was our official map checker.Detailed carvings around the gateway to the market area above. The insect here is about 1cm long. This is a bit unclear as the whole carving around the gate is sealed under (slightly grubby) perspex.Another set of baths. This is the tepidarium (the warm water area).A fountain in the caldarium (the really hot water) area of the same baths. We could see the double floor and walls that allowed the heating and insulation of the baths. This kept it nice and cool in the warmth of the day we were there.Roman fast food joint (thermopolium). These were scattered all over the city as most inhabitants did not cook at home. The holes in the marble counters held hot food or cool wine.Flour mill at a bakery. Turned by donkeys or slaves (donkeys were cheaper).Oven at the bakery.Beware of dog. One of many famous mosaics throughout the city. Some are reproductions (with the originals in museums), others are still the originals and look almost as good as they would have 2000 years ago. (Point of interest... mosaics have been considered the best option for signage and warnings in the designs for long term nuclear waste storage facilities - they're the only way of making images we KNOW will last thousands of years!)Gardens in some houses have been replanted with the same species identified by archaeologists as having been originally planted there.The House of the Faun. The largest in the city, covering a full city block.More mosaics.This one, depicting Alexander the Great defeating Darius of Persia, is definitely a (extremely detailed) reproduction.The little theatre.The big theatre (with seating for 5000).Gladiator training area.
After finishing up our audio tour at the theatre district (and checking out the gladiators' cells), we split up. I raced off to see the Ampitheatre and a few other things on the way, while A and the boys headed off to the villas a little out of the main city, before the end of the day. Unfortunately the villas had closed, but I got to see a bit more before we headed home.
Tanning pits.Frescos.Vineyards.Necropolis outside the city walls.City gate.
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum... sorry, Ampitheatre (apologies for the musical theatre joke, not many opportunities for that one)... I came across an exhibit focused on the lower and middle class of Pompeii (about which little is directly recorded). It was very interesting and I could have spent much longer there.
Bread preserved from the eruption. One loaf even preserved the fingerprint of the baker.
I did eventually make it to the Ampitheatre. It was worth it.
Entry down to the arena.Panorama from the centre of the arena.Underground tunnels around the arena.
After the arena, I did a quick dash back to catch up with A and the boys.
Apparently cats are a thing at the ruins.
Overall, we all really enjoyed Pompeii. While the boys were pretty worn out, I could easily have spent a few more hours there. As it was, I already broke my walking record for the trip with 12.06km (breaking the previous day's record of 11.33km).
We have also come to the conclusion that, as visitors to interesting sights, we enjoy being late. That is, being the last (see Warner Brothers Studio Tour post) or very nearly last (Pompeii) out. Crowds have usually died down (or completely disappeared), the light is often lovely, and on a hot day it cools off. We're also just not generally keen on super early starts!
