Pompeii Unearthed

Catching the circumvesuviana train to Pompeii Scavi, the closest station to the Parco Archelogico di Pompeii. Entering the park was easy, no queues and we were able to take in our backpacks - a bonus as it meant we could do a one way tour exiting through the gate at the other end of the park a short walk from our apartment.

Once inside, we looked for a picnic spot and found a great one which happened to be at the Forum. After eating, we planned our route based on the various itineraries. What an awesome orienteering area this would be!

On August 24th, 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted burying Pompeii beneath 3 meters of ash, pumice and other volcanic debris. If the villagers didn't perish during the initial episode, then they were asphyxiated by pyroclastic material and heated gas (nuees aredentes) which reached the city walls by the morning of August 25th. Additional rains of ash and pyroclastic flows continued and eventually Pompeii was preserved under 7 meters of material for the next 17 centuries.  Pompeii was not the only city to vanish. The nearby villages of Herculaneum, Stabiae and Torre Annunziata were also destroyed. The city of Pompeii was rediscovered at the end of the 16th century but explorations only begun around 1748 continuing systematically throughout the 19th century.

The Pompeii archaeological site is huge spreading over 66 hectares - the city walls had a circumference of 3kms! During the excavations in 1858, the city was divided into neighbours and blocks. With Ella in charge of navigating, our tour began in neighbourhood #8 - highlights were Sanctuary of Venus and the Basilica.

A blocked path saw us back tracking to the Forum, the focal point of town in neighbourhood #7. Spread around the edges of the Forum we saw the Sanctuary of Apollo; Forum Granary - it was the fruit and vegetable markets but now houses over 9000 artefacts including lots of amazing terracotta crockery as well as a few preserved bodies that Katy was fascinated to see and the Temple of Jupiter with the majestic Mt Vesuvius in the background.

 

Through the Honorary arches we head for neighbour hood #6 to enter one of the largest houses in Pompeii, The House of Faun. A small statue of the dancing faun standing upon a nicely tiled area greets us as we step in. Further to the back of the residence, we admire the remnants of a mosaic floor picture displaying the battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian King Darius. Both of these pieces of art are copies with the originals on display in the National Archeological Museum of Naples.

 

After wrestling with the fragile map in the wind and folding it appropriately we continued. (Note to self - send Ella to Map-Folding 101 when we get home.) Our intended route has us returning into neighbourhood #7 one again however fencing for restoration work prevents us from doing this. By this stage, Ella was getting flustered with the wind and by having to reroute our course. We continue down via stabiana, hoping to access the areas of interest from the south and stumble across the House of Marcus Lucretius located in the adjacent neighbourhood #9. Paintings adorned the walls of a front room which opened out onto a small garden complete with waterfall and several statues. A great find which hadn't made it on to our list!

 

At the crossroads, we wander through the House of Sirico followed by the House of the Wounded Bear where we walked on a raised see through platform to admire the tiny mosaic floor tiles which led to a colourful mosaic fountain in a garden area with frescoed walls. Next still in neighbourhood #7, we entered the Stabian Baths - the public baths. Divided into mens and womens each area had a changing room followed by cold, warm and hot baths. Interestingly the mens were larger and more richly decorated.

  

Unable to download the recommended guidebook (the website was being updated), we relied on Andy to read about each area of interest from bookmarked sites on his phone as we arrived at that spot. Walking around the Stabian Baths, Katy and I lost Andy and Ella. They had already moved on and surveyed the next point of interest. Quickly Katy and I had a look in - not much to see except for a few small rooms containing stone beds. I pressured Andy for info on this one but he was elusive. Once the girls were out of earshot he told me that the Lupanar was a brothel!!

By this stage we'd been wandering around the ruins of Pompeii for 2.5 hours. The girls were beginning to loose interest and grumble. Into the eastern section of neighbourhood #8 we went to admire the Odeon and took the opportunity for a rest and snack. Large groups of tourists came and went. In a moment of quiet Ella put on a handstand show! Around the corner past the Gladiator Barracks and up some stairs we discovered the larger theatre.

Much of neighbourhood #1 was inaccessible from the east due to restoration works. Wandering along Via Dell'Abbondanza, we stuck our heads through the doorways of the House of Casca Longus; Fullery of Stephanus and the House of the Lararium of Achilles.

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Crossing into neighbourhood #2 we saw the House of Octavius Quartio; House of the Venus Shell and the lovely Praedia of Giulia Felice - a villa type residence with an euripus a fountain characterised by a long channel lined with statues and architectural constructions.

Still in neighbourhood #2, we arrive at the amphitheatre, the oldest amongst those known in the Roman world. The amphitheatre had a capacity to hold 20,000 spectators.

 

After a quick toilet break, we made our way through the Necropolis of Nocera Gate - the cemetery with several burial monuments and back into neighbourhood #1 from the south. We found the Garden of the Fugitives - a peaceful place with a large glass cabinet tucked into the back corner. Inside the bodies of 13 victims that were found scattered amongst the vineyard. The quintessential image when one thinks of Pompeii. It is assumed that they had survived the initial eruption but were overcome by the pyroclastic flow while trying to find a way out of Nocera Gate. And that concluded our Pompeii tour.