A walk through ancient history

Picture yourself in your kitchen washing the dishes on a warm August summer day. Now picture the skies instantly darkening with ash and soot. Look out the front door and see mayhem as your neighbours start screaming and running around when they realize that the nearby volcano is erupting! Then picture yourself running for your own life to escape the molten hot magma that is beckoning at your heels. That was the reality for people living in the city of Pompeii when it was completely destroyed in 79AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

We visited this ancient city on our italian trip. Below is the arch leading out of the public forum. You can see the massive volcanic mountain behind the arch.

Surprisingly the city was preserved under the hardened lava and in 1748, under King Charles III of Naples, exploration began on the site. In the 1930s they started major excavations and uncovered the city in a pristinely preserved state. They found an extraordinary wealth of architecture, sculptures, paintings and mosaics. Even some public fountains remained intact.

The bodies of the deceased had also stood the test of time from being quickly covered in ash and rock, so archaeologists were able to preserve the expressions by coating the bodies in plaster. Thus, the bodies remain in the same state and facial angst that they died in. Very sad, but fascinating at the same time.

The ancient Italians were a very cleanly folk, and we were fascinated by the many baths that were in the city of Pompei. The baths were divided into mens and womens sections, both with dressing rooms, cold rooms, warm rooms and hot rooms. Public baths were inexpensive and heavily used, especially in early afternoon. We especially liked the way the sun came in through the ceiling of this one. We enjoyed the vast amphitheatres (above) and coliseums(below). The coliseum was used for gladiator battles. Of course I had to prove my prowess in the ring! ;o)
We enjoyed a picnic of wine outside the coliseum gates to cool down after a hot day of trekking through the ruins.