Pompeii, the unearthed lost city.

Before

And like any other day, the sun set upon Pompeii, the prosperous Roman occupied city on the Mediterranean port. The marketplace, bustling with hungry traders and determined consumers scrambling for the best deal. Aristocrats went about their usual pampered routines. Which apparently included: massage after a workout to be followed by steaming and a cold splash to tighten the muscles. Street musicians entertained the underprivileged, while children probably danced along on the cobbled stone pavements. As the wealthy enjoyed various acts of pantomimes behind marbled floors with walls lavishly painted and decorated with mosaic art depicting their opulent lifestyles. The cooks and cleaners might have gone about their chores gossiping about this and that. And not too far in the distance; the sleeping giant slowly woke from his centuries old sleep.

And so it began

Meanwhile, the grand Vesuvius deceivingly dormant; loomed over unsuspecting occupants of Pompeii as the unfathomable ‘brewed’ beneath. The sunny skies would soon be shadowed with scorching ash and debris from its eruption. As it spewed as high as 12 miles into the sky, for a continuous 18 hours. Consequently ravaging everything in its path, with no one surviving its wrath. The whole city along with its occupants were buried in a 20 feet rubble. No one is said to have survived.

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What was left behind?

It is hard to imagine the horror they faced in those final moments. Or the haunting memories forever engraved in the minds of those deemed lucky to have lived close by the two obliterated cities.

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But as you walk along the cobbled paths, you will notice the systematic order of the buildings. You may also be able to picture what their daily lives may have been like e.g from the architecture: atriums with gardens and columns bordering it from the rest of the house.

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This was a style typically used in the construction of affluent households. To further support this are painted and mosaic illustrations of seemingly day to day activities; depicting a range of emotions from: love, lust, anger and even jest.

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What stayed with me was the man referred to as “the muleteer”. He is seated, seemingly hopeless and hunched over himself. With hands covering his face as if to protect himself from someone or something. What ran through my mind was that perhaps he didn’t know what to do and thought he would sit and hide. And that perhaps it would all come to pass, his remains can be found in the Pompeii granary.

We also get a sense of how they lived through the buildings still intact including: baths, bars, steam rooms and government structures. A study into what they ate is continually underway but we can get an idea from the images on the walls.

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There is more

A vast majority of the art and artefacts unearthed from Pompeii can be viewed at the Naples National Archeological Museum. Included in those finds is a 5 metre mosaic of Alexander the great staring down at his defeated rival King Darius of Persia. To get an aerial view of Pompeii you can go up to Santuario di Pompei. You would need to pay to go up the roof.

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Pompeii is a UNESCO world heritage site and the most visited archeological site in the world. As we speak, excavations are continuously being unearthed.

The old and new

The current Pompeii may not beacon you with riches but there is still much to do and explore. What with their tempting gelato, food stands with rum baba and arancini. When the sun is out you will not miss to see hordes of tourists from bus tours dropping by on their way to Pompeii with some also making their way to the ruins of Villa Oplontis and Herculaneum.

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Slowly fading away, again

It has been years since the last eruption of Mount Vesuvius. And unfortunately throughout those years the climate has rapidly been changing. With an increase in torrential rains and temperature, tourism and neglect. The lost city of Pompeii is before our eyes; slowly crumbling away.