Pompei

This was the most interesting part of the trip for us and the reason we chose the tour that we did. How could anyone go to Italy without seeing Pompei?

 These three pictures are what you see as you are walking towards the ruins that have been excavated. We were shocked at the scale. I don't know what we expected to see but this was not the visual we had in our heads. All of this was covered deeply in ashes and it has all been cleaned away and exposed again. Hats off to the people who did all this work as most of them are volunteers and they are working in incredible heat not to mention the dust. Just walking around most of us started to cough from the dust we were stirring up with our feet so working in it must be very difficult.

 Can you imagine digging out the amphitheater above? That's part of our group milling about at the bottom. Note the wagon ruts worn into the rock roads in the second picture. I wonder how many Pompeinans twisted or broke their ankles. These stone and cobblestone walkways are not easy to navigate.

He just had to get into my picture, ha ha, and that's ok. I think these roads must have been one way as they don't look wide enough for two wagons to pass. The village was laid out in a great grid pattern though and looked well designed. We were always impressed with the design, construction layout and artistry of these ancient places.

To the left you have their version of a fast food restaurant. Those are steam tables, so to speak, where the food was kept warm for customers. 

 I could have my facts wrong but I believe the guide said that these two story places were a business down below and residences above.

The fresco paintings were mostly fresh after all the years of being buried. In another part of the ruins which we didn't get to see they were much more vivid.

Petrified wood.

Another fresco

The laundry. Don't ask me how it was done, I think I wandered away from the group when he was explaining it. To me it looks like something you would sit in, not wash clothes.

Rebirth. From the ashes the greenery appears and life continues.

Another shot of their roads.

This is the bed in the brothel. I can't show you the fresco's or the erect penis's above the door and embedded in the walkways giving directions to the place as my blog site wouldn't approve but there was no mistaking what this area was all about. The guide went on and on about it and the guys were getting their jokes in to the point where the women started rolling their eyes to say 'enough  is enough'. I think that Pompei was quite into their pleasures. After all it is called Roman Orgy I suppose. 

The bathroom right next to the bedroom above.

The bakery ovens. The pizza ovens they use today are pretty much the same design.

An original mosaic tiled floor.

The forum, which means the market and gathering area, with the remains of Vesuvius in the background. The volcano is one third the size that it was when it blew. It is still active and considered one of the top ten most dangerous volcanoes in the world. The reason for that is because it is an explosive kind, not lava, but ash and pumice. When it blew the cloud was 60,000 feet high and mushroom shaped apparently.

The original casing on an archway. The design is beautiful. Like the Italians today their esthetics were impeccable.

These are in the artifact room of the site. The explanation of the animals and people is that they were covered in ash which solidified, the bodies decomposed and when the archeologists found the remaining bones, they filled the negative space with concrete and got the casts that you see here. These are not petrified bodies, they are casts of them.


To the left are stacks of cheese.

A man and vessels on the shelves behind him. 

A broader shot of above.

A dog. I'm not sure about this one as when my husband was Googling Pompei  we saw a picture with loads of these in the same position. Can't help but become skeptical when you see that. 

A possibly pregnant woman.

A definitely pregnant woman.

In the Forum there was a statue of Adonis, god of love. The men had the brothel so the women got their Adonis and had their picture taken with him. He looks like a boy to me but who knows. That reminds me of an interesting fact. Most of the people of this village were about 5'2". The food and water vessels that they used had plenty of lead in them and this contributed to their "stunted" (I'm 5'2 and I don't feel stunted) growth. Their life span was also shortened even before the volcano erupted as lead plays havoc with people's health.

The new Pompei today seen from the old Pompei above.



Hope I haven't bored you as there's lots more to come. You always have the option of using the delete button.