Pompeii

​Naples — Pompeii   —   October 29, 2021

          

   We were to dock at Cypress after a day at sea but something happened. Apparently, a landslide blocked a road and our excursion would be affected. So the Captain decided to go on to Naples and spend an extra day in Naples. Serendipity for this glitch would be an extra excursion. Ron and I chose the Pompeu tour. 

   Nancy, Debby, Steve and Rhonda chose the “Highlights of Naples” excursion. I asked Debby and Nancy for some hot scoobie about their Naples tour. Unfortunately no one knows what they did or sights they saw except for some broken glass in a parking lot and an old building somewhere. 

   Tom and Lynne’s group are also on thePompeii excursion but in a different group than me and Ron.   That’s okay. We’ll try not to get lost in Pompeii!

      P O M P E I I 

         

    In 79 ad a towering volcano, Mount Vesuvius, exploded in a devastation that completely buried more than 4 Italian cities. One of these was Pompeii. Once a beautiful and thriving city of wealth and prosperity, in a short time, lay in waste, buried under 25 feet of hot volcanic ash. The cities closer to the volcano were buried under as much as 75 feet of molten lava. 

   At the scene of the eruption, there was no escaping the raining of ash that continued falling for days. People hiding in there homes succumbed to either suffocation or deadly sulfuric gas that rolled like a wind across the valley. Even those fleeing across the valley were caught up in the aftermath. 

   It is with this that hundreds of years later, archeologists would begin discovering Pompeii and unearthing its mystery. Today, Pompeii is not only a tourist’s curiosity but an archeologist’s destiny. There is still one-third of the city still buried.  Excavations are in progress and will continue for years to come.  The entombed cities buried in lava may take centuries to uncover. 

   The ruins of Pompeii are interesting to see. Streets were paved  with stone.  Stepping stones roughly 18” diameter by 8” thick gave a pedestrian the ability to cross without having to step in sewage and waste that ran down the streets when it rained. Also, the stones were of sufficient width and thickness to allow Roman Chariots to straddle. One can still see the ruts made by years of passing chariots and carts. 

   We were able to look inside many homes as they were merely stone rooms where families lived. Small shops and businesses also lined the streets. Also remaining were stone walls and stone tables.  One could make out the brothel houses because our guide was very descriptive of how these were used. We actually learned more than we wanted to learn!  One particular Pharmacy advertised that he could treat a certain male condition caused by his deviant behavior with the ladies. The sign was a drawing in stone hanging on the wall above his door. Like I said, we learned more than we wanted!

   There were several large community gathering places uncovered. One could use your imagination to figure out what they did. Some might be social events, , or possibly exhibitions or entertainment. At any rate there were many steps where people could sit and watch. 

   There were also what appeared to be government buildings and churches. Large marble columns stood in front of some buildings while others laid broken and littered on the ground.

   There were rooms of plaster casts of human bodies in various positions. During the excavation process, when a cavity was discovered in the hard pumice, liquid plaster would be injected in the cavity. Once it hardened they were able to remove the pumice and the plaster cast. There were also many jars of pottery, carts, artifacts  and implements uncovered. It was a vast treasure of history.

   What about Vesuvius?  Much like Mount Saint Helens of our time, Vesuvius still looms over the countryside. It is not as tall as it once was but earthquakes are still common in this area. Apparently, there is still life in the mountain. 

Mike Thought