Pompeii and Herculaneum: Uncovering the Past

Pompeii

A 40 minute train ride from Naples is the archeological site of Pompeii, a city that once flourished at the base of Mount Vesuvius. In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvious (a giant volcano!!!) errupted after more than 2 days of warnings (in the form of a 30 km high cloud of ash coming from the crater of Vesuvius). The town of Pompeii was completely covered in volcanic ash and was basically forgotten, until the late 1600s. Excavations began (and are still taking place) and have uncovered incredible artefacts and have helped archeologists gain a great understanding into the lives of 1st Century Romans. Most of the statues/mosaics/frescos are now housed in the Archeology museum in Naples (see Naples post for pics).

This is the sight that greets you upon your entrance. We're not sure how much is original and how much has been added to help in the preservation. Either way, it is still interesting to note some of the aspects of daily life.



This wall holds the remnants of a frescoe.

The Temple of Apollo. Temples (to worship both gods and people) were plentiful.

A scene showing the sacrifice of a bull. This white marble plinth is located in a temple to worship either Vespasian or Octavian (Roman Emperors had a thing about becoming god-like).

Note the three bumps in the road. This is a Roman bridge. The cobblestones, rutted by wagon wheels, sometimes flooded with rain water (and I'm sure a lot of other not to clean things). These stones could be used to cross the road, without getting your pretty little feet wet.

My favourite, and the most scandalous of the area, is the Lupanar, or brothel. This building is the only one in Pompeii that was purpose built as a "love house". Note the bed with the pillow. Yes it's brick and not the usual comfort we'd expect, but it was covered with a matress. (and the beds in Europe are not that comfortable anyway).

The brothel even had paintings to display the positions or services offered (both hetero and homosexual). Consider this to be an ancient sex-menu. 'Would you like fries with that?'

Told you it was interesting.

Sex did not stop in the brothel. I love the group of Japanese tourists staring at this carving of a phallus (penis as we say). They seemed confused at first, but when they got it...giggles abound!!!

Another interesting thing to note about Ancient Romans was that there was a belief that a phallus could ward off the evil eye. In order to keep a business or a home safe and prosperous, many people would paint or carve phalluses (phalli??). The bigger the better. Apparently size does matter. Who can blame them though, we all know that finding/having a large phallus is really about luck.

but giggles aside, Vesuvius did not just preserve this ancient Roman town, it also caused quite real destruction. Here are just a few of the bodies (now in plaster cast) that fell prey to the strength of this mighty beast.

When the archeologists found Pompeii, they also found the negative spaces where bodies would have been. Those who remained in Pompeii that night, were suffocated by the toxic gases, and then covered by the ash. Over time, their bodies decomposed, leaving a cavity between their skeletons and the ash (keep in mind it hardened into solid rock). Archeologists were then able to pour plaster into the cavity to fill the space that would have been flesh. These casts, show the last pose (complete with facial expressions) of those who perished. As the plaster ages and chips away, parts of the skeleton can be glimpsed.

A Roman arena at the edge of Pompeii.

The houses in Pompeii are now recorded according to specific details that make them unique from the others. This house is known for the mosaic you see at the back of the garden; the Marine Venus.

This is a statue found in the courtyard of an unmarked home. Note that its made of bronze and that it is of incredible detail.

While a big dingle was mostly about luck and protection, others had a more philosophical perspective. This man, the god of fertility, is weighing his against a bag of money, apparently he saw the need for both things to be equal. You find whatever meaning you'd like.

Herculaneum, a town much smaller than Pompeii, is on the other side of Vesuvius. It too was preserved by the eruption. Herculaneum (named after Hercules) was covered by mud....very hot mud. There was also a lot of it---like 50 m. That's 150 feet deep!!!! It is very well preserved in comparison to Pompeii and gave a little more insight into some otherwise unknown details.

The top of this picture shows a frescoe and the bottom the sketch. This displays how the heat of the mud incinerated the paint and plaster. It also helps us understand that a fresco was painted, first by carving the sketch, and second by applying plaster on a small area and painting it before it dried. Having the paint and plaster dry together, made the painting one with the wall.

Many of the houses in Herculaneum have had roofs added to aide in preservation.

These 5 arches, show the openings to boat houses and storage areas that lined the port. Where you see grass, would have been beach. Many people fled here to protect themselves, however they were covered with mud just the same.

Many houses were two stories and would have had balconies overlooking the street. The streets here were much thinner, as the steep hill and the lack of a merchant community did not require people to cart wagons around---hence no need for big streets, and no ruts in the road here.

you can see the volcanic mud/rock that covered the orginal bars on this window.

This is another frescoe found almost perfectly preserved in a home.

This black wall, is actually a wooden screen. One of the coolest things about Herculaneum is that a large portion of the 0riginal wood still remains. It is 2000 years old and severly charred, but it is there!

We thoroughly enjoyed both visits, and highly recommend seeing both to gain a good understanding of the time. It really is a shame that this civilization was lost. The art was amazing and the structures were profound. The Romans were very advanced in the 1st Century. Sadly, we're not all that much further ahead than they were (yes, we've got electricity and motors), but it's incredible to think what society would be, had they been able to continue at this pace for the next 2000 years.