City in the Dust

While we were in Sorrento last week, we took a day out to go visit Pompeii.

Danny & I were both expecting it to be similar to the Forum in Rome, which is really quite small. We did not realize how massive Pompeii is. It is literally an entire village, complete with houses, temples, the shops, amphitheater & public baths, open for touring.

When Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, it buried the entire town and its inhabitants under ash & 12 layers of soil. Apparently, the town was then abandoned and completely forgotten about until it was accidentally discovered in 1748. You can kind of see from this photo how the town sits at a different elevation from the surrounding area.



The contents of Pompeii were remarkably preserved, due to the lack of moisture and light. There was even carbon dated bread found in the bakery. The frescoes were all intact, and provided art historians with important information on art & life in Roman times.

They made plaster casts of many of the victims. It is believed they either died instantly when the pyroclastic surge hit (more rocks than gas) or slowly suffocated to death.


This dog is believed to have been chained up outside of a house.



Kate had so much fun imagining what things were. She would pretend that a room was the kitchen, and tell me where the oven, table and fridge were located. This prompted many discussions on how they did not have ovens or refrigerators back then, and had to cook their food over fire. I told her they did not have toilets either, but I don't think she believed me.