Pompeii Is A City. Photos, Sights, Excavations

Pompeii is an ancient city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, whose fame is associated with local, some of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. The city is primarily famous for its famous history and has historical attractions that are interesting for tourists focused on exploring historical ruins and excavations.

The story is brief

Most of the ancient Italian cities that have been found and explored by archaeologists, at first glance, seem to have frozen in eternity. Such an impression is formed by the layman, who for the first time looked at the fossilized remains of a once living civilization in modern Italian territories.

The most popular of these cities is Pompeii, where the date has been frozen on the calendar for many centuries: 79 AD. The city of Pompeii is famous for one of the largest natural disasters in world history – the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The history of Pompeii begins long before its sinking. The city was founded in the 6th century BC and quickly became an important trading center, due to its location near the sea coast and on the way between Naples and Rome. Trade flourished here, and Pompeii became home to wealthy Roman patricians and merchants.

Ancient Pompeii existed from the 7th century BC under the rule of the Oscans, Greeks, Etruscans and, finally, the Romans.

It was thanks to them that agriculture developed here, grown on fertile volcanic soils. In the period from the fourth to the first century BC, many public buildings were erected in Pompeii, including numerous temples and an amphitheater.

Помпеи город. Фото, достопримечательности, раскопки

The dynamic development of the city was interrupted in 79 AD by the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii was buried under a layer of lava and ash.

Pompeii’s fate changed on that fateful day on August 24th. Mount Vesuvius, which had seemed dormant for a long time, suddenly woke up and began to emit giant clouds of ash and lava. In just a few hours, the city was covered with layers of ash and plunged into darkness.

For the next almost 2 thousand years, Pompeii remained forgotten. The discovery of the buried buildings occurred only in the XVIII century. Archaeologists discovered the ruins of the city, covered with layers of ash and lava, and began excavations. What they found was truly amazing.

Excavations in Pompeii have allowed many architectural objects, frescoes, sculptures and even the bodies of dead residents to be preserved. All this provides a unique opportunity to look into the daily life of the ancient Romans, see their houses, shops, thermal baths, amphitheaters and even wander through the narrow streets of the oldest city on the planet.

Archaeological work is still ongoing. In addition to the buildings themselves, such as the buildings of the Roman Forum, numerous villas and residential buildings, thermal baths and temples, well-preserved wall paintings have been discovered here, which today are a showcase of excavations.

Sights of the frozen city

Excavations in the city are still ongoing. The treasures stored in the depths are finds for historians, archaeologists and philologists. And now you can still see traces of country villas of wealthy citizens, theaters, schools, shops and forums. The entire territory of the burned city is included in the UNESCO list.

Tourists are allowed to visit only a part of the preserved houses, because the rest have suffered greatly over the past centuries and may collapse at any moment.

The most eerie place in the city is the Garden of the Fugitives, where the bodies of the victims of the eruption were found. There are 17 plaster figures that were ordinary people many centuries ago. Experts suggest that they all came together to escape from the disaster. But they failed.

There was once a picturesque garden here, which was completely covered with ashes in a few days. Now here you can see a woman holding out her hand, as if she wants to push away the inevitable, a couple in love and people with a grimace of horror on their faces.

If you walk along Decumanus Maior, the main shopping street of the city, you can get to the Stabian baths – Roman baths, which are better preserved than the rest. The first thing that visitors see is the room in which the young men were engaged. The locals called it the Palaestra. There is a swimming pool to the left of it, and a men’s sauna to the right. It was separated from the women’s room by heating rooms.

The baths were heated using hypocausts, a special system of pipes that were placed underground. There was a cold water bath in the men’s half, and a steam room next to it. There were also changing rooms and niches in the baths where you could leave your clothes.

To the right of the city gate is the Antiquarium, a place where archaeological finds are kept. The main exhibits are plaster casts that were made from the victims of the disaster. There are figures of both people and animals here. The bodies were recovered from the ashes only in the 19th century. They were in plaster-filled voids.
There were also sculptures and architectural fragments.

The antiquarium was open to the public from 1861 to 1976. Then, as a result of an earthquake, the museum was closed. It was possible to see the legendary collection again only in 2016. Now there is an interactive 1:500 scale model of the city in the walls of the Antiquarium. There are also exhibition spaces and a bookstore.

One of Pompeii’s most famous landmarks is the Villa di Misteri, a sprawling complex known for its mysterious frescoes. They depict various scenes, from religious rituals to landscapes and mythological subjects. These frescoes are a valuable source of information about Roman art and beliefs.

Pompeii is also known for its public buildings, such as the forum, which served as the center of the city and a place for public speaking and trade. There were also temples, libraries and a city barracks. An important building was the baths, where the inhabitants of Pompeii could enjoy a sauna and social gatherings.

Pompeii is also famous for its amphitheatres, where various entertainment events were held, including gladiator fights and theatrical performances. The amphitheater had a capacity of about 20,000 people and was a place of similarity for the entire population of the city.

With the help of excavations, archaeologists have also been able to restore some of the daily life in Pompeii. They found various items such as dishes, furniture, jewelry and even food. All this allows us to understand what the customs, lifestyles and tastes of the ancient Romans were.

However, over time, Pompeii has been subjected to various threats, including wear and tear from weather conditions and tourist pressure. Fortunately, efforts are currently underway to preserve and protect this unique archaeological site so that it can continue to serve as a window into the ancient world.

10 amazing finds in Pompeii

Pompeii was first excavated back in the 1700s. Since that time, this amazing place has given the world a large number of finds that can sometimes surprise and make you think about the culture and life of Ancient Rome.
The amazing finds that were discovered in those places today help humanity to learn many new historical details of the life of ancient people.

In 2018 alone, 2 objects were found, thanks to which the veil of Pompeian daily life was significantly lifted. In this article, we will look at 10 interesting discoveries that have been discovered in Pompeii.

10. The first graffiti — wall and floor paintings

The most common type of graffiti in Ancient Rome was considered political. Candidates for the position wrote on the walls and asked to vote for them for certain reasons.

Most of the wall inscriptions were made in the form of scratched symbols, but historians have found graffiti in the form of painted letters. Such a performance of wall art usually does not stand the test of time, but in Pompeii it is perfectly preserved under a layer of ashes.

9. Villa of the Mysteries

Villa of the Mysteries is a perfectly preserved villa found under a layer of ashes, which may have belonged to a wealthy family. Despite such a long period of neglect, the building has been preserved in good condition, and more specifically, its walls and ceiling. The frescoes inside the villa are still in perfect condition.

8. Horses in harness

In 2018, scientists discovered the remains of horses. It was noteworthy that there were sleds on the horses. Perhaps it was a failed attempt to escape from the disaster in the last minutes. A team from the time of Ancient Rome is an incredibly rare artifact.

7. The Lupanarium

It is believed that the Romans were more open in discussing intimate matters than humanity is today. So, the so-called brothel Lupanarium was found in Pompeii. It consisted of 2 floors and 10 rooms. All the walls of the building were decorated with a lot of graffiti. Such a place was used to satisfy carnal pleasures.

6. Laundry room

People in ancient Rome lived in very small rooms where there was nowhere to place a device for washing clothes. Historians have found a self-service laundry room where people carried clothes for washing and drying. It is worth saying that the laundry was washed with urine, because it was available. The laundry always contained a large amount of urine, which was collected in public toilets. After washing, the laundry was hung on the streets, which created a very unpleasant smell.

5. A place of worship of the gods

An amazing find of 2018 is an almost perfectly preserved temple. The Romans approached the creation of art with full responsibility. In the temple, you can see many painted walls with images of shrines, snakes, as well as a room with a swimming pool, which indicates the richness of the building.

4. Food

Many people used to believe that wealthy people in Ancient Rome ate delicious foods in a large abundance of various options, while the middle classes lived on bread alone. However, researchers have found multiple food remnants in Pompeii — clams, oysters, sea urchins.

Scientists have proved that the diet of ordinary people living in the city was also quite diverse. It was similar to today’s Mediterranean — olives, nuts, fish, salted meat and lentils.

3. The fresco with the distribution of bread

The mural shows a politician who distributes bread for free. This was usually done as part of large public events, such as gladiatorial games. This fresco shows political activity in Ancient Rome. Another valuable fact of such frescoes is the furniture that they depict — wicker baskets. The way of life of those times provided for maximum practicality and economy in the arrangement of dwellings. Therefore, it is clear that wicker furniture was considered a luxury, and could only be used by wealthy or noble strata of society.

2. Forum baths (baths)

The first mention of public baths in ancient Rome is found in the descriptions and images of Pompeii. Such buildings occupied a fairly large area — about 900 meters. The structures were divided into 2 sections — separately for men and women.

1. Museum of Erotic Art

Many finds in Pompeii are statues, to put it mildly, in an indecent form. To store such discoveries, a museum was created in Naples, where you can view all the artifacts.

In 79 AD, an earthquake and the subsequent eruption of Mount Vesuvius led to the complete immersion of the city of Pompeii under layers of ash and lava. This terrible event caused the deaths of thousands of people, but it also contributed to the unique preservation of this ancient Roman colony. Today, Pompeii is a real archaeological site that provides us with a unique window into the ancient world.

Pompeii is not only an archaeological site, but also a symbol of the strength and enduring beauty of the ancient Roman civilization. They give us an opportunity to look at the world that existed more than 2 thousand years ago. Visiting Pompeii is not only a journey into the past, but also an opportunity to better understand and appreciate the heritage of ancient civilizations and their contribution to the development of mankind.

Pompeii is a unique city, practically a “window” into the ancient world. Researchers, archaeologists and historians consider this place to be one of the most valuable for study and investigation.

Speaking of tourists, it is worth noting that many psychotherapists are sure that this is undoubtedly an interesting place, but it is not recommended for impressionable people to visit it. The realization that the petrified figures encountered on the way were once real people, felt, loved, and lived their lives is not easy to bear, especially for deeply experiencing people for their subtle and sensitive perception.