{"id":13533,"date":"2017-08-23T02:27:40","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T06:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=13533"},"modified":"2020-07-02T15:12:22","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T19:12:22","slug":"throwbacktuesday-79-d-pompeii-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/79-ad-pompeii-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"79 A.D., Pompeii Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year was 79 A.D. and Pompeii was a thriving Roman port city nearly seven centuries old when it was erased from the map after the devastating volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. An eruption so catastrophic it completely obliterated one of the most sophisticated cities of its time, leaving no signs of existence or life. \u00a0Littered with layers of ash and pumice (<\/span>lapilli)<\/span><\/i>, this lost city was only rediscovered over a thousand years later in the late 1500s by Italian architect, Domenico Fontana, during the digging of a canal.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s absolutely fascinating about Pompeii is that due to the preservation from the lapilli and the slow, continuing excavations (which properly started in the mid 1700s), we\u2019re able to piece together the culture, lifestyle, and infrastructure of a civilization that is nearly 2000 years old. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In addition, after the eruption in 79 A.D., the lapilli changed the geography of the land, creating a new shoreline, nearly 3 miles away from where Pompeii is today. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"#ThrowbackTuesday<\/p>\n

Location of Pompeii pre-79 A.D. eruption indicated in red. Land mass post-eruption indicated by black border.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

—<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a balmy, humid August day on the western coast of Italy and my family decided to spend the morning exploring Pompeii. During the drive to the site we discussed what we have previously learned about this lost society. \u00a0We must\u2019ve all been reading from the same high school social studies textbook, because all we could recite was that bodies of inhabitants were found in the position they were in when the volcano erupted. Boy, did we have a lot to learn…and we did just that with our Italian tour guide, Sabrina.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we entered the walled city of Pompeii we literally took a step back in time, walking on the original road with stones that were laid over 2000 years ago. \u00a0Lining the streets were white stones, known as \u201ccat’s\u2019 eyes,\u201d which were used as reflectors. \u00a0Drainage troughs on either side of the road collected rain water which led back to the sea. \u00a0And sidewalks, also with drainage, were raised to create easy access for the townspeople to get to and from the stores and their home. \u00a0(<\/span>Heck, parts of the world today still don\u2019t know what sidewalk draining is.)<\/span><\/i> \u00a0In the middle of some streets were long, flat raised rocks, strategically placed so that carts could still pass, yet the people had a lily pad to hop on when crossing the street.<\/span><\/p>\n

Home to nearly 20,000 citizens at its peak, this sophisticated port city was frequented by traders and businessmen due to the convenient location on the Mediterranean. \u00a0Enclosed in the 170-acre community was a theater, amphitheater, bars, fast-food shops, stores, plazas, hotel, and private residences. \u00a0Fast food shops were easily accessible from the road. \u00a0They weren\u2019t called McDonalds back then, but the concept was the same, quick access to a meal. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"#ThrowbackTuesday<\/p>\n

Stores lined the sidewalks with gates that slid across the ground from one end to the other, resulting in permanent grooves that are still visible today. Slaves typically lived above the shops and the primary residence of the business owner, if successful, lived behind the store. \u00a0Many homes also had an entrance from the street with a beautifully tiled foyer. \u00a0Inside the homes were running water, cisterns, guest rooms, staircases, lavish art, and gardens containing edible plants. \u00a0Life in Pompeii was advanced. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"#ThrowbackTuesday<\/p>\n

A mosaic entrance of a private residence saying “Cave Canem” in Latin, meaning “Beware of Dog.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In addition, there was a spa. One for men and one for women. \u00a0It was a multi-tier building with fresco-painted walls and high ceilings lined by statues. There were a handful of rooms including a locker room, massage parlor, and sauna. \u00a0The sauna was specifically constructed to stay heated with pipes in the walls and under the floor pushing hot water through. Guests had to wear special wooden shoes when sauntering around to ensure their feet wouldn\u2019t get burned. \u00a0In the back of the room was a marble tub full of cool water for guests to jump in when they needed to cool off.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we walked through the old roads and listened to the different pieces of history from Sabrina, I was in awe about how advanced Pompeii was nearly 2 millenniums ago. 80% of the population was literate and the people had running water. \u00a0What\u2019s astounding is that after Pompeii was lost, it seemed that infrastructure development throughout the world took a few steps backwards. \u00a0Sabrina says it was the shift from Paganism to Catholicism, with the new ruling power wanting to erase the past. \u00a0Others have different theories.<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to an evacuation during a major earthquake in 62 A.D., the population in 79 A.D. was believed to be considerably lower at the time of the volcano, with only about 2,000. To date, less than 1,200 preserved bodies have been found still in the position they were in when the volcano erupted, and today are encased by plaster for better preservation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"#ThrowbackTuesday<\/p>\n

A body from the 79 A.D. eruption preserved with a plaster shell.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Because excavations are still underway with roughly \u00bc of the city remaining, many archeologists believe that additionalbodies will be found. \u00a0A few bodies can be seen on site with a majority of them in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. \u00a0Today the amphitheater is still in use. \u00a0Not for the traditional gladiator fights, but rather for concerts and shows. \u00a0Fun fact is that Pink Floyd filmed their concert movie in this space. <\/span><\/p>\n

In just a few, short moments, an entire society was lost. \u00a0The remains of shops, entertainment, art, and developed infrastructure have, today, helped us to understand the flourishing city. \u00a0We have come a long way, and with excavations still in process, there is still much more to uncover. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"#ThrowbackTuesday<\/p>\n

Pompeii\u2019s forum.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The year was 79 A.D. and Pompeii was a thriving Roman port city nearly seven centuries old when it was erased from the map after the devastating volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. An eruption so catastrophic it completely obliterated one of the most sophisticated cities of its time, leaving no signs of existence or life. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":425,"featured_media":13535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[14100,14101,14099],"yst_prominent_words":[3768,3760,3766,3763,14098,1721,3772,3767,14096,6598,14097,3771,3769,3761,3762,3765,3770,2198,3764,1869],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/image2-3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13533"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13533"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30809,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13533\/revisions\/30809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13533"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=13533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}