2 October '05, Sunday.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, and stopped all life in Pompeii, and Herculaneum. With the re-discovery of both Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1748 the archaeologists were able to put together the best look at what life must have been like in Rome 2,000 years ago. When we camped here last January, and with the Pompeii site right across the street, we really felt that we would like to return. What we saw today was a complete city, well preserved, and worth the 3 1/2 hours we took to explore it. Pompeii was first caught in the gray-white ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, that accumulated so fast that it started collapsing roofs and floors. Just a very short time into that, the gases from the eruption came and finally took 2,000 of the town's 20,000 residents. Those that were killed were buried under eight feet of the white power. Walking the streets of Pompaii was like stepping back in to time. Yes, they have recreated some of the garden areas of the individual homes, and rebuilt a few roofs. This was done so that you could really get a feel of how they lived. There were a lot of shops, restaurants, and some very small to some very large homes. The Tyrrhenian Sea used to come right up to the city, but now the water is a couple of long miles back. As might be expected, the "bounty" of these two cities was all put together and taken to the National Museum in Naples, but for just the right look, they may have put a copy or two of a statue in the ruins. We were able to see a lot of the tile mosaics on the floors, and some frescoes on the walls and ceilings of a few homes and businesses. We even saw a couple of homes that had an opening in the ceiling to collect light into the atriums, just like the skylights of today. One even had drain spouts that let the water drop into a pool in the middle of the entry area. Built into the pool was a drain that lead out to the street for the over-flow. Of course like all the major areas that the Romans lived, there was a forum and a large and small ampitheater. The ash was so hot, that when it covered a body, it vaporized it. This left a shell in fhe form of the person, in which the archaeologists filled with plaster to recreate the image. For some reason, Pompeii had by far more sexually exotic frescoes and carvings than any archaeologal site yet. There is even a "special" room for this material at the museum. There was one fresco (painting on a wall) that showed a man with a very large erection. This is not pornography, but a way of showing wealth and fertility. The penis and the sack of money balance each other on the goldsmith's scale above a fine bowl of fruit. The meaning, only with a balance of fertility and money can you have abundance. There was a lot to tell you about, but it will have to wait until we get home. After a bite to eat, we grabbed the train and headed for a short visit to Sorrento. We had taken the advice of Rick Steves again and purchased a 3 day ticket that would get us into 2 major sites, all the train, bus, and boat rides we could put into 3 days, and 50% off the other sites we wanted to visit. So now we have visited one major and taken 2 train rides...all in the first 6 hours. We didn't spend too much time in Sorrento today, but we will be back. Sorrento looks really great, but diffenately will take more time. Tomorrow....Herculaneum...the "other" city
Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, and stopped all life in Pompeii, and Herculaneum. With the re-discovery of both Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1748 the archaeologists were able to put together the best look at what life must have been like in Rome 2,000 years ago. When we camped here last January, and with the Pompeii site right across the street, we really felt that we would like to return. What we saw today was a complete city, well preserved, and worth the 3 1/2 hours we took to explore it. Pompeii was first caught in the gray-white ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, that accumulated so fast that it started collapsing roofs and floors. Just a very short time into that, the gases from the eruption came and finally took 2,000 of the town's 20,000 residents. Those that were killed were buried under eight feet of the white power. Walking the streets of Pompaii was like stepping back in to time. Yes, they have recreated some of the garden areas of the individual homes, and rebuilt a few roofs. This was done so that you could really get a feel of how they lived. There were a lot of shops, restaurants, and some very small to some very large homes. The Tyrrhenian Sea used to come right up to the city, but now the water is a couple of long miles back. As might be expected, the "bounty" of these two cities was all put together and taken to the National Museum in Naples, but for just the right look, they may have put a copy or two of a statue in the ruins. We were able to see a lot of the tile mosaics on the floors, and some frescoes on the walls and ceilings of a few homes and businesses. We even saw a couple of homes that had an opening in the ceiling to collect light into the atriums, just like the skylights of today. One even had drain spouts that let the water drop into a pool in the middle of the entry area. Built into the pool was a drain that lead out to the street for the over-flow. Of course like all the major areas that the Romans lived, there was a forum and a large and small ampitheater. The ash was so hot, that when it covered a body, it vaporized it. This left a shell in fhe form of the person, in which the archaeologists filled with plaster to recreate the image. For some reason, Pompeii had by far more sexually exotic frescoes and carvings than any archaeologal site yet. There is even a "special" room for this material at the museum. There was one fresco (painting on a wall) that showed a man with a very large erection. This is not pornography, but a way of showing wealth and fertility. The penis and the sack of money balance each other on the goldsmith's scale above a fine bowl of fruit. The meaning, only with a balance of fertility and money can you have abundance. There was a lot to tell you about, but it will have to wait until we get home. After a bite to eat, we grabbed the train and headed for a short visit to Sorrento. We had taken the advice of Rick Steves again and purchased a 3 day ticket that would get us into 2 major sites, all the train, bus, and boat rides we could put into 3 days, and 50% off the other sites we wanted to visit. So now we have visited one major and taken 2 train rides...all in the first 6 hours. We didn't spend too much time in Sorrento today, but we will be back. Sorrento looks really great, but diffenately will take more time. Tomorrow....Herculaneum...the "other" city