Pompei

OK, so you already know about the great eruption of 79AD that basically put a damper on life for people living south of Mt. Vesuvius. Pompei was no exception. The town was covered in 25’ of ash, molten rock, pulverized pumice, and other hard stuff commonly known as tephra. And just to give credit where credit is due, the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, released enough thermal energy to equal 100,000 times the energy from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Neat party trivia fact!

Although the destroyed towns were quite similar, the differences between Herculaneum and Pompei are that Pompei was a larger, more of an agrarian town, while Herculaneum was a smaller, port town. Both, however, had their share of transients, sailors and visitors seeking to indulge in trade and the exchange of goods, not to mention enjoying a few of the “finer” things these towns had to offer.

Pompei was originally founded as an Oscan colony in Neolithic times. It was later influenced by Greek colonists somewhere around 8^th century BC, and then by the Etruscans in the 7^th century. It wasn’t until around 89BC that Rome took control of the city, by force, and renamed the town, “Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompei” in honor of the Roman general who besieged the town.

The Romans were not as demanding of the citizens of the empire as one would believe. To some extent, freedom of religion was allowed under the right circumstances and in the right towns. Pompei, for example, was steeped in Greek mythology and had many statues, paintings and artifacts relating to Greek gods and goddesses. This explains why so many artifacts from Greek mythology were found in the city after the excavation.

Just as with Herculaneum, the homes and buildings in Pompeii are very well preserved. And just as with Herculaneum, Pompeii had a fairly modern infrastructure, like underground running water, fast-food restaurants, temples, schools, and a few of those “finer” things I mentioned earlier, brothels!

CAUTION!!!! X-RATED BELOW

Come on, get to the good stuff. How many people died?  In 79AD, Pompeii had a population of around 10-15,000 people, of these it is estimated that 1,500-2,000 perished in the disaster. Many of those found during the excavation were encased in ash that had solidified. Before removing these hollow “bodies” archeologists filled the casings with liquid plaster. The result was a plaster cast of the body shape with the bones intact. Some even had clothing around the bones that transferred to the plaster. A few of these casts are on display at the site, most have been removed and placed in museums.

So without further ado, here are the pics.