6 May 2006 – Pompeii

Okay. I went to Pompeii.

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I’m sure that there are better writers who have created better books than I could better describe a Roman city frozen in time. Also, I am writing this on the flight from Naples back to London, and I am rather tired, so let me just sum up a few thoughts.

Pompeii is big. Really big. A quick walking tour of the whole part that has been excavated takes a minimum of 4 hours. Plus, on a beautiful Saturday morning, Pompeii is crowded. I don’t like crowds, and armed with my guide Antonio we set out to avoid them.

Most people have heard the story of Pompeii. A prosperous city at the base of Mount Vesuvius, it was buried in ash and stone when the mountain erupted on 24 August 79 AD. Almost the entire population was killed by the noxious gases from the volcano, and the ash and stone buried it so completely it was forgotten for almost 1500 years.

Herculaneum, a neighboring city, was also buried, but it was in the path of a huge mudslide. The mud hardened and is much harder to excavate than the ash which buried Pompeii.

We saw some casts of the dead of Pompeii. After the gases killed the people, they were buried in the ash. As time progressed, they discomposed but left a hollow in the ground where their body was. Using plaster poured into a hollows, it is possible to recreate the shape of the body, complete with clothing such as sandals.

For some reason I just didn’t want to take a picture of these casts. There was almost a frenzy of activity around the cases that held them, but I just could help but feel that these nameless people deserved a little more respect. It was sobering.

I did take a lot of other pictures, which I will add to the gallery when and if I ever had time to make proper comments on them.

I got sunburned (I forgot that I am to avoid the sun with the medicine I am taking for Lyme’s disease) and my feet got tired so we headed back to Naples. Antonio cooked me another wonderful meal of macaroni with tomatoes, and I took another nap.

On the way to the airport he took me to the highest part of the city. It was a great end to a great trip, although I am incredibly exhausted. I’ll post this from the hotel, and I’ll try to wrap up my European tour on the flight back to Raleigh.

Last updated on May 07, 2006 01:01 UTC




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