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Published: June 16th 2017
Geo: 41.8919, 12.5113
On August 24, 79 AD, Vesuvius erupted, burying the town of Pompeii in ash and pumice, killing around 3,000 people. The rest of the population of 20,000 people had already fled. The city is preserved in its state from that fateful day. Pompeii is an excavation site and outdoor museum of the ancient Roman settlement. This site is considered to be one of the few sites where an ancient city has been preserved in detail - everything from jars and tables, to paintings and people were frozen in time providing an unprecedented opportunity to see how the people lived two thousand years ago. There are a myriad of building, homes, shops etc. and, in my opinion, without a guide, this would be too much to take in.
I went on a tour from Rome but had considered doing this independently but I'm glad I didn't. While a guided tour does have its issues, in this case, it provided the right amount of information and covered the key highlights of the site making it easy to just view and absorb versus wandering around looking for things you want to see. We visited the following areas over about 2 ½ hours. It
was a beautiful day and it was not at all crowded so this worked out well. In reviewing the areas missed, I don't feel like I need to go back any time soon. I don't have photos of everything because I tend to get immersed in what I am seeing and forget to take photos.
Another feature on this visit were the incredible modern sculptures by the late Polish sculpture Igor Mitaraj. These sculptures show up in some of the photos I did take and they are copper, now oxidized, so pretty easy to tell the difference between ancient ruin and modern sculpture. This exhibit was done specifically for Pompeii and might be permanently installed. The 30 large-scale sculptures depicting imposing mythological characters are set amongst the most well-known architecture of the ancient city placed in key locations in the archeological site.
The amphitheater. This is near the Sarno Gate entrance. It was completed in 80 BC, measures 135 x 104 meters and could hold about 20,000 people. It is the earliest surviving permanent amphitheater in Italy and one of the best preserved anywhere. It was used for gladiator battles, other sports and spectacles involving wild animals.
The Great Palaestra (Gymnasium). This occupies a large area opposite the Amphitheatre. The central area was used for sporting activities and there was a pool in the middle. On three sides are lengthy internal porticos or colonnades.
House of the Faun. This is named after a statue of a dancing faun found on the site. It is considered to be an excellent example of the fusion of Italian and Greek architectural styles, and occupies an entire block.
Forum. This was the center of public life, although it is now to the southwest of the excavated area. It was surrounded by many of the important government, religious and business buildings.
Temple of Apollo. This is to the north of the Basilica on the western side of the Forum. It has the oldest remains discovered, with some, including Etruscan items, dating back to 575BC, although the layout we see now was later than that.
Theatre. The Theatre built in the hollow of a hill for acoustic advantage; it seated 5,000
Via dei Sepolcri (street of tombs). A long street with worn ruts from carts carrying the dead.
Lupanar. An ancient brothel with pornographic frescoes over the entrance to each room, presumably indicating the services on offer. Even allowing for the smaller size of ancient Romans the beds seem rather small.
House of the Ancient Hunt. Attractive, open-style house with many frescoes of hunting scenes.
Basilica Pompeii. This was the most important public building of the city where both justice was administered and trade was carried on.
Forum Granary Artifacts like amphorae (storage jars) and plaster casts of people who did not escape the eruption are stored in this building, which was designed to be the public market but may not have been finished before the eruption. This is one of the few places you see the dead. Some of the folks on the tour thought these would be everywhere. Many of the casts have been moved to other museums. The reason they are casts is because the human remains decomposed within the pumice ash that encased them. The only way to determine who or what was inside was to fill the encasement with plaster and then break away the hardened pumice ash.
Baths. There are several baths some are well-preserved and roofed others less preserved. The Stabian baths which have some interesting decorations and give a good idea of how baths used to function in Roman times.
House of the Tragic Poet. This small atrium house is best known for the mosaic at the entrance depicting a chained dog, with the words Cave Canem or "Beware of the Dog".
Other things to look for when walking around are:
Cat's eyes. You will see in the ground there are small tiles called cat's eyes. The moon's light or candle light reflects off these tiles and gave light, so people could see where they were walking at night.
Direction signs – Particularly the way to the whore house. These are phallus pointing the way.
Bars and Bakeries. You walk past where their bars and bakeries once existed. The bars had counters with three to four holes in them. They have water or other beverages available in the holes. The bakeries' ovens look similar to the old brick stone oven. The House of the Baker has a garden area with millstones of lava used for grinding the wheat.
Carriage tracks and pedestrian crossing stones. The streets have tracks for the carriages for a smoother ride. There are also stone blocks in the street for pedestrians to step onto to cross the street. The sidewalks are higher than the modern sidewalk because the streets had water and waste flowing through them. The stone
blocks in the street were also as high as the sidewalk, so people did not walk in the waste and water. The stone blocks were also used for what we now call speed bumps. When the carriages were going through the city, they were going fast. To avoid people from getting splashed by the water and waste they had stone blocks in the street. This would make the driver slow down when they were speeding, so they could get through the blocks.
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Lara
non-member comment
What an incredible site! I will make sure to visit next time I'm lucky enough to be in Rome. Love catching up with what you are up to as well!!