Pompeii. Photo
August 24, 79 AD E. The inhabitants of Pompeii lived their daily lives, unaware that these were their last hours.
The earthquakes occurred over several days, but people were already accustomed to them and went about their normal business. When the Vesuvius volcano woke up (it erupted six times in two days), all hell broke loose. Each eruption was accompanied by the release of gases, ash and hot lava, moving at tremendous speed and sweeping away everything in its path.
When it was all over, about 6 meters of volcanic debris and ash buried Pompeii and its inhabitants.
Victims buried in 1900 have been examined using modern technology.
The Pompeians did not die from suffocation
Until recently, it was believed that the victims died from asphyxiation caused by deadly volcanic gases and ash.
A recent study by volcanologist Giuseppe Mastrorenzo and his colleagues showed that people died instantly due to the very high temperature of the flow (at least 300 degrees Celsius).
The inhabitants of Pompeii were covered with ashes where they were instantly killed 
The poses of the people show how they died. Children and adults were covered in ash; due to the high temperature, the ash melted and turned into plaster statues. Over the years, the soft tissues have disintegrated, but the skeletons remain inside.
Of the approximately 2,000 dead, only 86 of these “statues” survive. Excavations are still going on in Pompeii today. But all the remains are so fragile that they require great care.
Not only are the victims in the position in which death overtook them, but the expression on their faces, preserved by the ashes, is a grimace of agony.
One victim raised his arms above his head in a protective gesture - a weak, reflexive attempt to stave off his impending doom. The other has a face frozen in an endless scream, reflecting perfectly preserved teeth.
Outstretched hands, mother holding her child. One man sits with his face covered in his hands, as if resigned to inevitable death.
Some people hug each other, apparently their loved ones.
Most of the victims are in the so-called Garden of Fugitives 
Of the approximately 2,000 inhabitants of Pompeii believed to have died in the disaster, archaeologists have recovered only about 1,150 bodies. This means that some of the city's residents fled when volcanic activity began.
Most of the victims were found in one place in the Garden of Fugitives. Thirteen people died there, the remains of nine people were found in the House of Mysteries, where the roof probably collapsed and covered all these people.
Animal remains found 
Several animals have been found in Pompeii. Since it was a prosperous city, many residents had pets, namely dogs. However, most wealthy residents also owned horses and other farm animals.
In addition, wild animals roamed the area. They did not escape and were doomed.
At the Olitorium (market) a pig was found, also a small dog, presumably someone's pet, lying on its back as if doubled over in pain.
Archaeologists recently discovered several horses in the stables of a Pompeii villa. It appears that at least three horses were killed, two of which were harnessed and possibly prepared for evacuation. Unfortunately, they never did.
Various skeletons of donkeys and mules were also discovered.
Food discovered in Pompeii 
Archaeologists found preserved bread in layers of dust and ash. It was round, untouched and with a seal; bakers marked their products this way; the bread had lain for centuries under a 9-meter layer of ash and earth.
Archaeologists analyzed fossilized remains in kitchens and trash cans and got a rough idea of what the Pompeians ate. These include grains, lentils, olives, poultry eggs, nuts, fish and meat.
Exotic spices, shellfish, sea urchins, flamingos (yes, the pink variety) and even giraffes were also found.
The Pompeians were fond of garum, a fermented fish sauce obtained from fish intestines. The salted fish was left to ferment (or rot) for two months in the sun. Some compare garum to Thai fish sauce. But for ancient Pompeii it was considered the ketchup of that time, although the best garum was expensive.
The people of Pompeii had good teeth 
Recent research shows that the people of Pompeii had amazingly large, pearly white teeth, indicating good health. Researchers point out that the teeth of the Pompeians were in many ways better than ours. This is due to the fact that the diet of local residents was high in fruits and vegetables with low sugar content. In addition, the city had sources of fluoride in the air and water near the volcano.
4 The "Two Maidens" Are Actually Men 
This recognizable image was previously believed to be two women who embraced each other in anticipation of death. Archaeologists called them "Two Maidens". However, in early 2017, researchers discovered that the hugging individuals were men, suggesting they were gay lovers. Scans and DNA results of bones and teeth confirmed that they were definitely male.
The researchers further confirmed that the two are definitely not related. DNA results identified one of them as a young man aged 18-20 years, and the other as an adult male aged 20 years or older.
Erotic objects from Pompeii 
Pompeian sexual habits would make even the bravest of us blush, as ancient Rome and Pompeii were famous for debauchery.
Pompeii was first discovered in the late 16th century by workers. They called Italian architect Domenico Fontana. He was so amazed by the revealing frescoes and other objects that were discovered. The items were considered too scandalous and offensive for the sensitive public of the time. The artifacts remained buried until the 18th century. Even after the excavations of that time, the "treasures of Pompeii" were still carefully processed. In 1819, Francis I, the future king of the Two Sicilies, was so shocked by the obvious erotic nature of the objects found that he ordered them to be locked in a secret cabinet. For the most part, these artifacts were not made available to the public until 2000.
Bound slave 
The shackled slave was unable to escape from the prison when the eruption began. He was found lying face down with shackles around his ankles.
The guy with the worst luck in Pompeii 
Imagine the chaos of falling fire, ash, thick smoke. The man tries to run away, but a stone falls on his head and knocks it off his shoulders. The skeletal remains of this man were discovered 2,000 years later protruding from under a huge boulder. The skull was not found.
On August 24, 79, Vesuvius erupted. It was so strong that it completely destroyed three cities. Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae simply disappeared from the face of the Earth. Many residents died in severe torture, and their houses were buried under a multi-meter layer of stones and volcanic ash.
It is believed that the story of the death of Pompeii is well known. Archaeological excavations are constantly underway there. Eyewitness accounts have also been preserved. The same Pliny described everything in great detail. However, much about this tragedy remains unclear, and new facts are constantly emerging:
The inhabitants of Pompeii knew that there might be an eruption
The harbinger of the tragedy was a powerful earthquake that occurred in 62. There were practically no undamaged buildings left in the city at that time, some were completely destroyed. And the day before the eruption of 79 there was a series of tremors. Of course, the inhabitants of Pompeii did not understand that this was connected with the volcano. But they believed: the earth was shaking due to the heavy tread of the giants, who warned that people were in danger of death.
Shortly before the eruption, the water temperature in the Bay of Naples increased sharply, and in some places reached the boiling point. All streams and wells on the slopes of Vesuvius have dried up. From the depths of the mountain, eerie sounds began to be heard, reminiscent of a drawn-out groan. That's interesting the roar of the earth, which has been heard all over the planet in recent years, also foreshadows the death of thousands of people?
Most of the residents managed to leave the city
About a tenth of the population died on the streets of Pompeii - about 2 thousand people. The rest may have managed to escape. This means that the disaster did not take people by surprise. This is clear from Pliny's letters. True, the remains of the dead were found outside the city, so no one knows the exact number of dead. According to some reports, the total number of victims of the eruption in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia is 16 thousand people.
People fled to the harbor, hoping to leave the dangerous territory by sea. During excavations on the coast, many remains were discovered. Apparently, the ships were unable or did not have time to accept everyone. And those who remained hoped to sit out in remote cellars or closed rooms. Then, however, they tried to get out, but it was too late.
How Pompeii really died
Some believe that people burned alive in streams of hot lava, and the city was engulfed in flames. In fact, everything was not like that. Vesuvius practically did not erupt lava at that time. And if fires did break out anywhere, it was only by accident. This is known from the letters of Pliny.
First, a gray-black column of smoke and ash rose from the crater. Then the volcano began to eject larger debris. The hot cloud reached 33 kilometers in height. The energy of Vesuvius was many times greater than that released during the atomic explosion over Hiroshima. People rushed through the streets in panic, but quickly became exhausted, fell and covered their heads with their hands in despair.
Destructive hydrothermal pyroclastic flows poured into the city. Their temperatures reached 700 °C. They brought fear and death. Hot water mixed with ash, and the resulting mass stuck to everything that was in its path. A rockfall began. All this lasted 18-20 hours. The volcano erupted a huge amount of stones and slag.
It was difficult to breathe; a heavy black veil hung in the air. People fought for their lives, tried to escape from imminent death, and find safe areas. Then they fell exhausted, and were quickly covered with ash. They suffocated and died in cruel agony. Distorted faces, mouths open in a silent scream, convulsively clenched hands, cramped fingers... This is how most of the townspeople died.
As a result, the city was buried under volcanic rocks. The bottom layer consists of stones and small pieces of plasma. Its average thickness is 7 meters. Then there is a two-meter layer of ash. The total is about 9 meters, but in some places the thickness of the rubble was much greater.
The creepy photos are not corpses, but just plaster casts
Most of Pompeii's inhabitants are buried in the upper layers of volcanic ash. They lay there for almost 2 thousand years, but, at first glance, they were well preserved. In the photographs, which are abundant on the Internet, you can see not only the position of the bodies at the moment of death, but even the expression of horror and agony on the faces of the unfortunate people.
But in fact, these are only casts that archaeologists make. The first to come up with this idea was a certain Giuseppe Fiorelli, who led the excavations. Back in 1870, he discovered that voids had formed at the sites where people died. After all, the ash mixed with water that poured onto the city during the eruption densely stuck around the dead. The mass dried and hardened, preserving the exact imprints of bodies, folds of clothing, facial features and even the smallest wrinkles.
By filling them with plaster, the scientist received accurate and very realistic casts. This is how he managed to reproduce people’s poses and obtain their death masks. But the bodies themselves have long since turned to dust. And it’s still creepy... This is not for you photo of chupacabra, which look more like ordinary fakes. Everything is real here.
The death of Pompeii is a punishment for moral degradation
So, at least, some historians and philosophers thought. Indeed, when archaeologists excavated the city, they found many frescoes with unambiguous content. And there were more lupanariums (in other words, brothels) and separate rooms for meetings with prostitutes than, for example, bakeries. No wonder the inhabitants of Pompeii were considered the most dissolute in the Roman Empire.
Vesuvius is still dangerous, the tragedy may repeat itself
After 79, several more eruptions occurred. And each time it was a terrible tragedy. So, in 1631, approximately 4 thousand people became victims of the volcano. In 1805, an eruption killed about 26 thousand people and destroyed most of Naples. In 1944, 27 people died and lava flows destroyed the cities of Massa and San Sebastiano. You can read more about the volcano, and about the death of Pompeii -. By the way, there are documentary videos:
A mother hugs her son close to her, a husband covers his mouth with his palm - these are just some of the victims of the Vesuvius eruption. Now these figures, filled with plaster, are almost 2 thousand years old. years can be seen in Pompeii.
Pompeii and then Herculaneum were destroyed during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79. n. e.
The eruption killed thousands of people, but, thanks to the special properties of volcanic ash and mud, even the smallest household items have survived to this day: jugs, bowls of wine, loaves of bread in the oven and sauce in the cooking process - these and other things were first covered with 2-3 meters a layer of pumice-based rocks, and then a 2.5-meter layer of ash. The city died in an instant.
Now, at an unusual exhibition, you can contemplate the frozen life of Pompeii in the form in which the disaster found them.
The city's last gasp
The frozen people of Pompeii are the skeletal remains (figures) of victims of the volcano, which were preserved under a thin layer of plaster. Thanks to this, they look the same as in life.
The process of exposing bones to light and preserving them in plaster began in the 19th century. Then archaeologists became interested in Pompeii and decided to find life buried under the ashes.
One of the figures depicts a man grasping a stone step. The other is a man with a hand to his face, who did not want to suffocate with dust.
Finally, you can see the whole family with their arms outstretched, trying to protect themselves from the catastrophe consuming them. Even the animals were not fast enough to escape. At the exhibition you can see, in particular, a dog with a death grin.
One of the saddest characters is the figure of a little boy.
Delicate operation
These frozen people of Pompeii look just as archaeologists found them under layers of ash. When the remains are removed, they are filled with liquid plaster, which hardens within 48 hours.
Preparing plaster is a very delicate job. The bones are fragile, so you need to be extremely careful when pouring, because the figure can be irretrievably lost.
Archaeologists have immortalized more than 100 remains, although not all can be seen on display, since about 1,150 bodies have been discovered in Pompeii so far. A third of the ancient city still remains buried under volcanic ash.
Pompeii is an ancient Roman city in southern Italy near Naples. As you know, Pompeii was buried under a multi-meter layer of ash during the eruption in 79. Nowadays, the city is a huge open-air museum, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997.
The city was founded by the Osci in the 6th century. The name of the city comes from the Oscan pumpe - five, since the city was formed by the merger of five smaller settlements. In Roman times, the division into five electoral districts remained. Another version of the origin of the name is Greek, from the word pompe - triumphal procession.
According to this legend, the city was founded by Hercules, who, after defeating Geryon, solemnly walked through these places. At different times the city was ruled by the Greeks, Etruscans and Samnites. In 310 BC. Pompeii became an ally of the Roman Republic as an autonomous, self-governing city.
In 90-88 BC. the city takes part in the revolt against Rome.
In 89 BC. Consul Sula took the city, limited its autonomy and made it a colony of Rome. The city occupied an important place on the trade route between and Southern Italy. Many noble Romans had villas on the territory of Pompeii. A high-profile event was the massacre between the inhabitants of Pompeii and Nuceria in 59 during the gladiatorial games. An ordinary fight between fans turned into a bloodbath. As a result, games were banned in Pompeii for 3 years.
Tickets
Entrance ticket to the archaeological complex of Pompeii costs 15 euros. For visitors under 18 years of age, admission is free, but you must show a document confirming your age.
- We recommend buying tickets in advance online only at official ticket offices ticketone.it
See registration on the website.How to get from Naples on your own
You can get to Pompeii on your own from Naples, by bus or rented car. We recommend options with public transport (in the south of Italy it travels according to mood and not regularly), only to the most experienced travelers with time to spare and a great desire to save money. Let's look at all the methods in detail:
By rented car
If you are traveling through small towns in Italy on your own, then you can come to Pompeii by personal transport - Of the independent options, it is the most convenient. Parking near the archaeological zone will cost approximately 5 euros per hour. We recommend reading about the features of car rental in Italy and choosing the best option on our website
- You will need:
By train
In Naples, Napoli Porta Nolana and Napoli P. Garibaldi stations have direct trains Circumvesuviana (literally translated “Around Vesuvius”) - of the options, public transport is the only one we can recommend. Here is a link to the schedule. You need to get off at Pompei Scravi Villa dei Misteri station– it is located almost next to the ticket office. The drive is approximately 30 minutes.
Tickets can be purchased in advance online at the ticket office ots.eavsrl.it/web/public/ots/ticket/index
Choose the Napoli-Sorrento line and ticket to Villa Misteri, date and number of passengers. Click Avanti. Please note that the site is also available in English, the switch on the right is the British flag.
Electric trains depart in the morning from 09:06 and 11:36.
To visit Pompeii you need to allocate at least 2 hours. You can also take this line to . From Pompeii back to Naples the train leaves at 17:18, a round-trip ticket costs 11 euros, there are no discounts for children.
Trenitalia companies depart from Naples Central Station towards Pompei station approximately every 30 minutes. The ticket costs 2.80 euros one way. If the train arrives on schedule and there are no stops, the travel time will be 38 minutes. Be prepared for frequent stops, proximity to gypsies and various beggars.
The station is located about 3 kilometers from the entrance to the archaeological park, so it makes sense to wait for bus 004 (possibly N50) and take it 3 stops.
Google advises looking at the schedule on the website of the official carrier http://www.fsbusitaliacampania.it, but, for example, in the schedule of bus 4 I don’t see the Mazzini stop. Apparently it’s easier to ask the locals upon arrival, they should help. We will be grateful if someone shares their adventure experience in the comments.
By bus
According to information from Google, direct buses N5000 and N5020 from SITAsud go to the archaeological complex relatively regularly from Naples - I do not recommend this option, since there is no real schedule or prices on the carrier’s website. To complete the picture, let's consider this method.
The Via Ferraris Galileo bus stop in Naples is located about a kilometer from Napoli Centrale station.
Bus tickets should cost 10 euros and can be purchased at:
- BAR ETTORE, PIAZZA GARIBALDI 95
- Inside Napoli Centrale station look for EDICOLA NUMBER ONE HUDSON NEWS
- ARPANET, corso Arnaldo Lucci, 163
- BIGLIETTERIA NAPOLI CAPOLINEA, PIAZZALE IMMACOLATELLA VECCHIA 1
- BAR DEL PORTO, VIA C OLIVARES ANG. VIA CAMPO D'ISOLA 26
- BAR TIRAMISU’, Napoli – Corso Lucci
What to see
Here are the attractions of Pompeii that are recommended to be visited during the tour:
- Temple of Apollo - one of the oldest temples of the ancient city is dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. The first mention of the shrine dates back to the eighth century BC, which is also confirmed by archaeological excavations. Now we can only imagine and speculate, but most likely on the site of the current ruins there was first an altar, and only a hundred or two hundred years later (they were in no hurry to build before) the main building was built. Today, of the majestic colonnade containing 28 columns, only two have survived. Also, two millennia later, in the internal niches of the temple we can observe frescoes with scenes from the Trojan War.
- Refugee Garden
- Great Palaestra
- Temple of Jupiter
- Amphitheater
- Street of Plenty
- Thermal Baths
- Venus's house in the shell
- Thermopolia
- Bolshoi and Maly Theater
- Gladiator Barracks Triangular Forum
- Lupanarium
- Forum
- Eumachia building
- Temple of Vespasian
- Market
- House of the Faun
- House of the Small Fountain
- Basilica
Visiting architectural monuments with a good guide will allow you to temporarily immerse yourself in the ancient world and touch its secrets.
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I remember as a child, seeing K. Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”, I was greatly shocked. The huge one died in a matter of hours. Why? How? For what?
Our family managed to visit Pompeii only in November 2016. I will share my photos and videos with you. Let's try to understand the reasons for the tragic events.
The ancient Roman city of Pompeii in Italy was completely destroyed in 79. Buried under a multi-meter layer of ash and magma as a result of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
The death of Pompeii - why didn’t people leave the city?
It was one of the largest ancient cities, founded in the 6th century BC. Its favorable location on the trade route and fertile lands contributed to its economic prosperity.
Geologists say that the volcano was silent for 15 centuries. He warned people that he was waking up with a strong earthquake in 62, almost completely destroying buildings. But the residents did not move to new places, but began to rebuild it again. Without even suspecting the impending disaster.
And the cruel killer Vesuvius from a height of 1300 meters silently watched the human bustle and waited in the wings. And this hour came on August 24, 79.
Vesuvius warned in advance
A huge, rapidly growing brown cloud appeared above the volcano. At a height of many kilometers it spread out to the sides, covering the sky. This was accompanied by a terrible roar and underground shelves. Every hour, volcanic ash covered the ground with a layer of up to 20 cm.
Human factor
Part of the population managed to leave Pompeii on the first day. There remained stubborn people who did not want to leave their homes and slaves whom their owners left to guard their goods. They tried to hide in houses, not realizing that they were dooming themselves to death.
The roofs of houses collapsed under the weight of falling stones and ash.
The next day, a red-hot heavy avalanche of magma flowed from the volcano, destroying everything in its path. The air was saturated with hot suffocating gas and dust, and when it entered the lungs it turned into cement, people suffocated. A heavy downpour began.
Loose ash, mixed with water, rushed down the slopes in a hot mud stream. The residents, mad with fear, rushed to the sea, and those who fell were trampled by those running behind them. Those remaining on the streets were burned alive. On the third day, the clouds of dust cleared. The sun illuminated the terrible picture of the dead cities of Pompeii, Stabia and Herculaneum.
Reconstruction of the bodies of the dead
The buried city was discovered by accident in the 16th century. But excavations began only in the 18th century. The sudden and rapid death of Pompeii under a multi-meter layer of magma and ash preserved many houses with interior furnishings, frescoes, mosaics and interesting architecture.
During excavations, the empty cavities left by the bodies of the dead were filled with plaster and their dying poses were reconstructed.
In this way, up to 2,000 remains were recovered. It is believed that about 15 thousand people died during this disaster.
Currently, 75% of the restored excavations are open. Up to 2.5 million people a year come to see it in the open air.
The remains of an amphitheater for gladiator fights, residential buildings with intact furnishings, frescoes and mosaics have been discovered. Temples, baths, a large number of drinking establishments, brothels and images of the phallus in drawings, figurines and sculptures.
Punishment for...
In Ancient Rome, the phallus was considered a symbol of good luck and a talisman. His images were painted on the walls of various establishments and on street corners. During excavations, many figurines of the God of Fertility Priapus with a huge genital organ were found.
In 1819, all the objects and frescoes depicting sexual orgies, bestiality and sodomy (homosexuality) found in the ruins were collected in the Secret Cabin of the Archaeological Museum.
Until 2000, this collection was available for viewing only to a narrow circle of people belonging to high society. Now it is open in the Naples Museum, for everyone who wants to get acquainted with this side of the life of the Romans of that era.
Judging by the assortment and number of exhibits, brothels and drinking establishments, the residents were far from chastity and led a cheerful lifestyle. Maybe the disaster that occurred was a punishment?
Present tense
We saw this city on a gray rainy day. Our short amateur video will give you an idea of the destroyed city.
Vesuvius, the culprit of the terrible catastrophe, now looks quite peaceful and is again waiting in the wings. The longer he sleeps, the more catastrophic his awakening will be. The passing centuries have erased the memory of the past tragedy and people continue to settle in its vicinity.
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