Pompeii- Frozen in Time

The drive from Positano to the Naples airport in Italy is about a 1.5-2 hour drive. The old city of Pompeii is directly on the way, we couldn't miss it! We woke up extra early so that we would have time to visit here before our flight. Once the site opened and we got our tickets, we only had about 30 minutes to explore. I would recommend scheduling out at least 2 hours to see here! If you have more time- I would recommend doing a guided tour so that you can learn more about the history. If you go to Pompeii in the morning, it is significantly cheaper. Check out the schedule here. 

History

The Eruption 

In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted. 
The volcanic eruption violently ejected out a ginormous, deadly cloud of extremely hot gases and tephra more than 20 miles vertical. This deadly eruption spewed pulverized pumice, hot ash, and molten rock at 1.5 million tons per second. 

The eruption buried all of the Ancient Roman cities in its path with at least 19 feet of volcanic ash, including the city of Pompeii. 

What is so special about Pompeii? 

Pompeii remained undiscovered for 1500 years. 
The city was discovered by accident during the digging of a new water tunnel in 1599. They started excavating the ancient city in the 1700s to discover that due to the falling ash, the entire city was frozen in time. Because of the incredible preservation due to the ash, we now have so much insight into what life was like nearly 2,000 years ago. 

The ash preserved a layer around where the bodies were left after the catastrophe- leaving molds of the exact positions the victims were in when they died. Experts say that it took no longer than 15 minutes to kill those in the eruption's path- virtually killing them instantly, as you can see by their bracing positions. ​

What We Know About Pompeii 
​
Here's what we know about Pompeii and ancient roman life since its discovery. 

• They had a rich & diverse diet- they ate sea urchins, seafood, songbirds, and pork
• They fed their livestock different foods for varied tastes
• Pompeii was known for fish sauce production
• The city was made up of one-way streets
• They had a very sexual culture. They found many brothels with pornographic paintings and other artifacts, showing that ancient roman culture was very comfortable expressing sexuality. Many people also used penises for decoration. That is not something I learned in my history book...  
• Romans lived their lives in public. By uncovering the layout of their homes, we can see that their homes were very open to visitors- and it would have been strange to close your door off to the public. 
• Romans used graffiti on almost every surface. 

Mount Vesuvius will Erupt Again

Mount Vesuvius will erupt again- the volcano's activity is constantly being monitored, but there is no way to know for sure that it won't suddenly erupt. Mount Vesuvius has erupted 42 times that we know of, and it's average eruption time is 46 years. The last time the volcano erupted was 1944. ​

Fun Facts about Pompeii 

• Only 2/3 of Pompeii has been discovered. 
• The 1/3 of Pompeii not yet discovered is still covered in debris from the eruption almost 2,000 years ago- it is 
• The preservation of Pompeii is currently being threatened. The government is racing to preserve the lost world of the Romans.
• One of the plans to preserve Pompeii is to work with scientists to build a 3D model of the entire city. 
• The city of Herculaneum was also destroyed by the eruption, and much of the city is even more preserved than Pompeii due to the thicker ash and longer excavation period. Some people say it is so preserved, you can almost expect people to still be living there!
• The Neapolitan Mafia, the Camorra, has been known to control Pompeii by becoming guards and overseeing parts of Pompeii as spies- where many artifacts go missing. This is largely one of the reasons why 1/3 of Pompeii has not been excavated. Many officials who have tried to stop the mafia have been found dead or have gone missing. 
• Pompeii used to be Greek - Do you see the influence? 
• Pompeii is the world's largest archaeological site at 150 acres

All Pompeii Photos are edited with 'Boulangerie' from theSt. Tropez Preset Pack. This preset cancels green tones and adds red/warm tones for a beautiful vintage looking effect. 

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