Pompeii: Exploring the Remnants of an Ancient Empire

A city lies in ruins. Nevertheless, the desolation hides the vestiges of a dynamic city which thrived here 2,000 years ago. Mount Vesuvius surrounds the city, as if to protect it. It is a volcano, yet until that day in the first century, the mountain had not erupted for a thousand years. Instead, it let out minerals like some kindly old giant and enriched the surrounding soil. And on this fertile soil was founded the Roman city of Pompeii. Time came to a stop in Pompeii on August 24, 79 AD. The people of Pompeii began that fateful day like any other. But then, Mount Vesuvius erupted. No one had been expecting it. In the blink of an eye, millions of tons of volcanic ash and debris poured down on Pompeii. The city and its inhabitants were buried in ash. The rediscovery of Pompeii was a miracle. The city had been sealed underneath 4 meters of volcanic ash, but it was accidentally discovered by a farmer who was digging a well. When the remnants of this once splendorous city were revealed, it contained vivid reminders of the Roman Empire's former greatness. 300 years have passed since excavations first began. In the beginning, the excavations tended to be reckless. This is because the excavators were usually treasure seekers. But in 1860, such recklessness came to a halt. The man responsible for systemizing the excavations was Giuseppe Fiorelli, professor at the University of Rome. But then, at the height of the excavations, Fiorelli was faced with a mystery. An entire city had been buried in volcanic ash. But with the exception of a few human remains, there were no traces of people. In one house that he had excavated, a table had been set with plates, as if a family had just sat down to eat. But there were no signs of the family's bodies anywhere. Instead, he discovered empty cavities in between the hardened volcanic ash and lava that filled every house. Fiorelli poured plaster into these mysterious cavities. Then, after the plaster had hardened, he removed the earth that surrounded them to reveal something amazing. The excavation team was shocked. These were the people of Pompeii who had died on that tragic day. The ash that buried the victims hardened with time, and the bodies decayed underneath the ash, leaving only a hollow cavity. By pouring plaster into these cavities, the people of Pompeii could be captured in their final moments. With the casting of the cavities that held bodies, the rediscovery of Pompeii was finally completed. A stable boy that died where he sat, covering his nose and mouth to keep out the hot volcanic ash. A pregnant woman who died lying face down in order to protect her unborn child. A dog writhing in agony as he slowly succumbed to the inevitable. Lovers who were running away from the calamity that died clasping each other's hands. Even death could not separate these lovers. They will spend eternity together. What did these lovers do on that final day? What kind of place was Pompeii where these people lived and loved? Pompeii, the place where the lovers lived, was a provincial city located on the coast of the Bay of Naples. This mountain which rises from the plain located north of the bay is Mount Vesuvius, which engulfed Pompeii in volcanic ash. While it looks peaceful on the outside, it is a live volcano which could erupt at any moment. A city stands surrounded by sturdy walls on the southeastern side of Mount Vesuvius. This is Pompeii. It is like a time machine which takes people back to the Roman Empire of two millennia ago. Buildings lined the long streets which once bustled with human activity. It is a place where the everyday lives of city dwellers at the height of the Roman Empire can be seen. There is no other ancient Roman city that is as well preserved as Pompeii. Pompeii is an amazing window on the Roman world. Of course we've got lots of archaeological sites and lots of texts that describe the Roman world, but Pompeii has an intimacy of detail that no other archaeological site can offer, and that's because of the way it was destroyed. The paradox is that the violence of a volcanic eruption preserves the site better than any other. When viewed from the air, one can see the matrix-like organization of Pompeii, which was the characteristic of all Roman cities at the time. There is a central road which connects to all areas of the city which is paved with large stones. There are sidewalks for pedestrians on either side of the carriage road and crosswalks made with stepping stones. These crosswalks are placed at regular intervals on the road in order to allow pedestrians to cross safely. There are wheel marks between the stepping stones. They show that the carriages slowed down when they reached the crosswalks, so their wheels could go between them. Walking these streets where the lovers of Pompeii once roamed, we could get a sense of the everyday lives of ancient Romans. All manner of goods were traded in the commercial district of Pompeii. It shows a surprising side of life in the city. It is commonly thought that people in ancient times were self-sufficient in what they wore and ate. But the people of Pompeii purchased what they needed in the commercial district. Some 400 shops have been discovered in Pompeii. This is the Via dell'Appondanza, which was the busiest area of Pompeii. It was here that most of the shops were concentrated. The marble cooking table and ovens of this building show that it was an eatery. It was like a fast food place where they sold food that was cooked on order on the stoves. Hungry pedestrians would have stopped by in order to grab a quick bite. Commerce was so developed here that people didn't even have to bake their own bread. This building, equipped with a large brick oven and millstone, was a fairly sizable bakery. There is a hole in the tough millstone. They inserted a stick in the hole and rotated it in order to grind wheat. Either slaves or animals such as mules and horses were employed to operate the millstone. The bread was baked in a red brick oven. This freshly baked bread was sold as the staple of the people in Pompeii. The people who purchased the bread were usually commoners who did not have ovens of their own. When the aroma of baking bread filled the air, the people of Pompeii would have stood in line in order to purchase bread for their meals. The lovers who died together could have met as baker and customer here at this bakery. The plaster casts of the lovers give us no clue as to exactly who they were or what they did, but they lived, met, and loved in this city. So what was the of this building, which was also discovered in the commercial district of the Via della Bundanza? The large jar that was discovered in front of the doorway offers us a clue. The jar was placed in front of the building for passers-by to urinate in. The building was a laundry, and the urine jar was placed in front of the door because urine was used to wash clothes in ancient Rome. Much like today, Pompeii and the countless other cities of the Roman Empire seemed to have laundries where busy urbanites could get their clothes washed. The plaster woman who was discovered alongside her lover could have been the daughter of the laundry's owner. The commercial district was probably a popular destination for young lovers on dates. The young baker could have purchased a necklace in this place and proposed to his girlfriend. The streets would have been lined with stalls exhibiting all manner of goods, and the air would have been full of the sounds of bartering. Pompeii was a city with a thriving economy. There is an image that is quite interesting in the Via della Bundanza. It is an image of a phallus engraved on the road. There are similar images all over the city. Why were they placed in the heart of the city, where everyone could see them? There have been a number of phalluses that have been found in Via della Bundanza, and the interpretation of these has pointed in two directions. One, that they are signs for where brothels and prostitutes might be found. This seems a little unlikely now because we know in Roman society that the phallus is a sign of good luck, and it's more likely that they were put in the place in the pavements and on shops to bring luck to the shopkeepers. Before the eruption of Vesuvius, Pompeii was an international center of trade located on the Mediterranean. Outside the city gates was a harbor where ships from all over the world could dock. The merchants of the Mediterranean traveled to India and even China in order to bring back precious commodities from the Orient. And because Pompeii was on the route between the east and the Near the harbor, there were bars and brothels to accommodate foreign merchants. This two-story brothel had several rooms with erotic frescoes depicting sexual intercourse, as well as beds made of rock. The frescoes were painted for foreigners who did not understand the language and proved that the brothel's main clientele were the foreign merchants and sailors who often docked at the harbor. Pompeii thrived on maritime trade and was home to many wealthy citizens. The colonnades that hold up the roof of this estate stand proud and erect. Named the Villa of Mysteries, this massive mansion has 90 rooms. Past the main entranceway is the central hall or atrium of the building. The atrium is surrounded by some 60 rooms and behind it is a sprawling garden. The structure of the estate is similar to that of many other Roman homes of the time. The interior decorations are also quite impressive. The walls are painted with frescoes which were popular at the time. Frescoes, which are painted using watercolors on wet lime walls, were a luxury that only the rich could afford. This work which was discovered in the Villa of Mysteries is part of a series which depicts the rituals of the followers of Dionysus. The life-size figures are painted using vivid colors on a background of the dark red that is called Pompeii red. The wealthy inhabitants of Pompeii were proud of their lavish and luxurious lifestyles. Splendorous banquets were frequently held at the estate in a banquet hall that was furnished with large couches. The rich would lie in the couches and eat food without the use of knives or forks. It was considered a privilege of the rich to This is a fresco which realistically depicts a banquet held in Pompeii. A man is throwing up right next to the other guests. It's said that guests often threw up in this way in the banquets of ancient Rome. Surprisingly, the Romans are said to have tickled the insides of their throats in order to throw up and eat more food. Pompeii has, like other cities in the Roman Empire, has a lot of inequality. The rich have by far the majority of the wealth and this is seen by they have the largest estates outside the city and also through their position in society and they are more often than not they are the people who decide what should happen in the city. Pompeii was a city where there was a great Yet despite all the poverty, there were no people who starved to death. This was unthinkable in the cities of the Roman Empire. To the Emperor of Rome, providing people with a stable supply of food was a task which matched national security and importance. In the capital city of Rome, there was a policy in which free bread was handed out in the name of the Emperor. And in the provincial cities such as Pompeii, the wealthy took it upon themselves to feed the poor. There is no state bread distribution in Pompeii, but we have evidence that the rich people made bread distributions. There is a fresco of a seated man in a toga giving bread out to people who are much more poorly dressed than himself. I think that this is actually a bread distribution by somebody who is a magistrate, someone who is a rich person in Pompeii. The reason they do this is so that they can maintain their social position and maintain their position in terms of politics in society where they make the decisions, have the wealth. Pompeii was incorporated into the Roman Empire sometime around 90 BC. Emperor Augustus employed a different strategy from previous rulers who used force in order to keep the empire together. He earned the support of the people by bestowing the same privileges as that of Rome to the various conquered territories. As a result, Pompeii was transformed into a smaller version of Rome. The fountains which were installed in the streets of Pompeii show the high level of urban development in the cities of the empire. It's difficult to believe that this faucet which is still in use today was used as a public drinking fountain by the people of Pompeii 2,000 years ago. Such public fountains had already been installed in most cities in the empire such as Pompeii around a century before the birth of Christ. This was the result of the amazing engineering ingenuity of ancient Rome. To bring the water it is necessary to have some canals with a regular slope but this is only an ideal situation because the country is very different with valley, mountain and so on. So it was necessary to create some gallery somewhere and the other part a kind of bridges and these bridges were very we can see everywhere in the countryside still working in certain time that are called aqueducts. Gravity was the most basic principle used in the aqueducts of Rome. In order to transport the water from its source high up in the mountains it was crucial to maintain a continuous slope and water pressure. The Romans built aqueducts in order to carry the water over lower areas such as valleys and rivers. These are the ruins of an aqueduct which provided water to the capital of Rome. Using the arch the Romans developed they built large bridges and placed canals on top of them. Also they covered the canals in order to keep impurities out and keep the water clean. They created a network of aqueducts in Rome which extended some 350 kilometers. This was an incredible achievement which revolutionized urban living. Pompeii where the two lovers lived also had a public water work system. There were public water fountains everywhere in the streets of Pompeii. They would spout clean water all day long that anyone could use. Roman municipal policy which placed an importance on public infrastructures had been transplanted to Pompeii. Running water made it possible for the importation of Roman values and lifestyle. The Romans had a very strong sense of the state and their word for the state is res publica, public property. It's what everyone shares and the public is the people, the populace is the public and it's all the citizens and every Roman city assumes that the citizens are important people and you provide facilities for the citizens. The aqueduct is a very good example of something provided for all the citizens. There's an amazing facility in the highest area in Pompeii. It's a cistern which was designed to hold and distribute water that had reached Pompeii through aqueducts. The water flowed out of here into three canals. One flowed into the public water work system, one flowed into baths and one was reserved exclusively for the rich who paid to have water delivered directly into their homes. When there was a lack of drinking water due to drought the canal that flowed into the homes of the rich was cut off first and then the canal for public baths. But the canal with water which was used as public drinking water was cut off only when it was absolutely inevitable. This quintessentially Roman republican spirit could be found everywhere in the city. The public bath located in the heart of Pompeii is the most well-preserved Roman era bath in the world. It is both a technological and aesthetic masterpiece. The bath's cavernous interior is decorated with all manner of frescoes and statues. The walls were lined with marble and the floor was decorated with beautiful mosaics. Windows were installed in the dome ceiling in order to let natural light in. The grooves which run along the walls and ceiling prevented the vapor from condensing and falling on people. Instead the droplets ran down along the walls. What significance did public baths have in Rome? Why were they decorated so finely? Roman public baths were not merely a place where people went to wash. They were public recreational facilities that anyone could use for free. They came equipped with cafeterias, lounges and gyms. Because people from all strata of society were allowed to use the baths, anyone in Pompeii could come here after a hard day of work in order to play games, receive massages and relieve the day's stresses. Baths served as cultural centers where people could interact and socialize. They helped forge a sense of Roman identity in people. Baths in Pompeii were a place where the community went to to get clean, to exercise and also to develop a sense of being Roman. These were places where you can find them throughout the Roman Empire. The structure of Pompeii gives us an idea of the driving engine behind Rome's spectacular success as an empire. Let's take a look at the spot where the main roads of Pompeii intersect. This is the Forum which is the heart of Pompeii. Surrounded by marble columns, this is the kind of public square which was at the center of all municipal life in the Roman Empire. The imposing columns that stand proud and tall give us an idea of the magnificent gallery which was once here. The colonnade which surrounds the square once supported the gallery roof. As with the Forum in Rome, Pompeii's Forum was designed to be the center of Roman urban life. The colonnade which is as tall as two stories forms a rectangle that surrounds that central square. Nevertheless, there is no roof over the square to show its independence and openness. Most of the major facilities in the city were designed around the square. The Temple of the Capitoline Triad, which is dedicated to a trio of Roman gods, was located north of the Forum with a view of Mount Vesuvius, to the west of the Basilica which served as a court of law in the Roman era. Between the Basilica and the Forum was the Temple of Apollo and the administrative buildings such as the city council were located to the south of the Forum. The city's major facilities surround the Forum. In this way, the Forum was a center of Roman public life for the citizens of Pompeii. The Forum is a characteristic space of all Roman cities. In Pompeii, we have evidence that people went to the Forum to go to markets, to go and read notices about what was happening in the city and to find out what was happening in the public life of the city. It's a place of law courts, for example, but fundamentally it's also the place where people elected and it's a place of elections and it's where the city council meets. So this is where the community meets in public and the community makes decisions in public. Every March, the Forum at Pompeii would buzz with excitement. This is because the citizens would vote on the council that would administrate over their city. The candidates would give speeches in the Forum and persuade voters. Only males over the age of 10 with Roman citizenship could vote. The elections were a highly exciting affair with women handing out flyers for the candidates they In Pompeii, they had elections every year and we can see the traces of it because the walls, the public walls of the streets are plastered with advertisements. People putting themselves up for election, put their names up in big letters. There are traces of election fever everywhere in Pompeii. The names of five candidates for council of Pompeii are written on this wall. The candidates did all they could to promote themselves. Even candidates from the most powerful families could not be elected without the votes of the citizens. One of the most highly valued characteristics of leaders in ancient Rome was the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the community. This characteristic determined whether a candidate would be elected and it was the strength which allowed the Roman Empire to These Pompeian lovers who have been cast in plaster probably voted in that year's election. Roman society in the first century AD put a real emphasis on the public which is quite a contrast to the later Roman Empire when things were becoming much more private. The emphasis on public is what probably makes the strength of the Roman Empire. As part of the Roman Empire, Pompeii was a rich and beautiful city. Springtime came and went and August arrived in that fateful year. Summertime was a season of joy for the people of Pompeii because it was when their famous grapes were harvested. Freshly pressed wine would have fueled the fire of passion that On that night, the lovers may have shared a sweet first kiss. The night passed and then that fateful day arrived. August 24, 79 AD. The morning in Pompeii probably bustled with activity as it always did. The shopkeepers of the Via della Bundanza hurried to get ready for customers and the lovers were happily chatting with one another. But then, around 1 p.m., people stared at Mount Vesuvius in shock and disbelief. The volcano had erupted with a loud roar. Pliny the Younger, the famed writer who is watching the disaster from the Bay of Naples, recorded the situation in detail for posterity. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius takes place in two phases. First, there is an explosion and the explosion, which has the force of an atom bomb every couple of seconds, it's absolutely enormous. It drives a column way up into the stratosphere, about 30 kilometers above the surface of the earth. And from that column, rains down a fine rain of tiny little pebbles of pumice. The first explosion was followed by another massive explosion. The people of Pompeii hoped that the disaster would soon end. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the catastrophe. Soon, millions of tons of volcanic ash and rock poured out of the mountain. To make the situation even worse, the wind blew southeast in the direction of the city. The people of Pompeii had no time. They looked for a way to live, but could not find safety. The pregnant were no exception. A doctor who was looking after the wounded passed away, and a family who sought safety in a room suffocated to death. Along with these people, the lovers of Pompeii also met their end. And in the second phase, that column collapses, creating pyroclastic surges, and it's the pyroclastic surges that ultimately kill people. The bodies in Pompeii are very often found above the blanket of Lapilli. They thought they could escape, and then the pyroclastic surge A pyroclastic surge engulfed the city like a tsunami. It consisted of superheated materials which poured down the mountainside and dispersed in all directions at 160 kilometers per hour. It was as fast and furious as a hurricane. The disaster finally came to an end on the following morning of August 25. With a single night, the entire city of Pompeii became buried in four meters of volcanic debris. Pompeii and its inhabitants were wiped completely off the face of the planet. The people of Pompeii have been frozen forever in their final, agonizing moments. The remains unearthed by Giuseppe Fiorelli were truly shocking. Some 2,000 bodies have been discovered. These people, who perished inside a small room of a house, were probably a family. The mother holds her child in her arms in her moment of death. This man found kneeling in an alleyway was probably a doctor. He was on his way with medical equipment in hand in order to treat the wounded when he died. He had with him his scalpels and forceps. These are the lovers of Pompeii who attempted to protect each other as they died. Even in their final moments, they probably kept hope that they would make it out alive. These moments 2,000 years ago have become frozen in time and will remain so for eternity. They are eternal as the memories of Pompeii and the Roman civilization that spawned it.