Pompeii (5/02)
Pompeii was once a busy seaport on the mouth of the Sarno river. Pompeii dates back to
7 bc when the first exterior walls were erected.
Pompeii was a mixed civilization of native, Etruscan, and Greeks. Pompeii Samnite
tribes came down from the mountains and conquering Pompeii and other coastal cities.
Pompeii began urbanization during this period of Samnite immigration. Rome began to
expand south around 343 - 290 BC and Pompeii entered the Roman political
organization, being named Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum (around 80 BC). Roman
influence included private and public buildings (being made with brick instead of lava
rock).
Seaport Gate, Notice Mt. Vesuvias in the background of this pic: Notice the missing
gap/crater.
A major earthquake hit the whole Vesuvian area in 62 AD and Pompeii was severely
damaged.
Pompeii was buried in ash on Aug 24, 79AD at 1pm. There had been a series of
rumblings from Mt Vesuvias the prior day and many of the Pompeii population fled the
city. It all became quiet and many residents returned.
Mt Vesuvias today is only 4,000 feet high. It used to stretch 11,000 feet high. On Aug
24 79 AD, the volcano spewed poisonous gas upon Pompeii killing most everyone that
was there. At 1pm, the volcano blew off 2/3s of its top into the air in one mighty blast.
This ash/dirt/rock shot up to 100,000 feet, buried Pompeii and actually moving the sea
back a whole kilometer (.6 mile)! People were buried where they lay. The volcanic ash
ate away the flesh, leaving bones behind and a hollow cavity where the person once was.
Pompeii was a city of about 20,000 when it was buried.
Pompeii did not rebuild and the
city was virtually abandoned.
Pompeii was rediscovered
between 1594 and 1600 while a
canal was being dug. The king
of Naples in 1748 began the
exploration, in these early days
for artifacts, etc. The workers
would dig, find stuff, then
refill. In the 1800s, the
remains were systematically
explored, preserved, and
restored. Many of the places
were named by the original
excavators based on particular
findings.
These public fountains appeared
every few blocks through out
Pompeii. Also, the lava base that
Pompeii was built upon did not
allow for the digging of sewers.
Liquid waste ran between these
stones in the street, being flushed
constantly with fresh water...solid
waste was hauled a way by slaves.
The major streets had huge
crossing stones, as I would imagine
there was even more water flowing
in these as the minor street
tributaries dumped into it.
The housing was broken into
many types: condominiums
that were shared by several
families, single dwelling homes
(more wealthy), and very nice
homes (governors/wealthy).
Each single dwelling home had
an atrium area (usually adorned
with some welcome message).
The vestibule area had a square
opening in the ceiling to let in
rain and light with a square
pond underneath to catch
rainwater. Each also had a
garden area. The bedrooms
were usually smaller rooms off
the vestibule area. Many homes had a library as well as kitchen areas. The wealthier
people owned slaves and the slaves usually slept in tight quarters above the kitchen,
accessed via a ladder.
Romans conversion point in any city for
religion/trading/politics was called a
Forum. Pompeii's forum had marble
walkways, buildings faced in marble,
with a wooden walkway around the second tier
of the buildings, etc.
These pictures are of a public bath. I
toured the men’s section of the bath,
which contained a changing area, a
steam room, a massage room, and a
cold-water bath that one would plunge
in after a steam bath. Notice the
Neptune god image just under the
window! Neptune was the god of the
ocean.
The main drink was wine with honey
served warm. Right behind the public
bath was a bar. A Roman version of
our ketchup was a dried fish paste that
was usually put on about everything.
Near this area also was the main Lupa or the best-organized brothel...the only one
designed specifically for this purpose. This
building was adorned with paintings of various
positions/erotic games (too vivid for this news
letter!) and contained 5 small rooms with
marble benches. Mattresses were on these
benches. The other brothels were above shops
and were sprinkled around Pompeii. A glass of
wine cost 1 (?) and a prostitute cost between 2
and 8. The prostitutes were usually slaves and
the brothel owner kept all the money. It was not uncommon for these prostitutes to be
young, starting at age 12 and when they became pregnant, it just meant more slaves for
the owner.
There were many
bakeries some public
(with sales counters) and
some private (without
sales counters). Mules
were used to drive the
grindstones and bread
became popular around
2AD. Before that time,
this flour was used in a wheat mush called 'puls'.
I found the amphitheater of interest. Built around 70bc, this is one of the oldest and bestpreserved amphitheaters in existence, with a capacity of about 20,000 or so. As with the
coliseum, the first row was for important folks/politicians/etc. This theater was used
mainly for gladiator battles. The participants entered thru one gate and the injured/dead
out the other gate. In 59AD, a riot broke out between the Pompeii fans and rival Nocera
fans and the field was 'disqualified' for 10 years. This was later cancelled after the
earthquake of 62AD.
Many of the shops had sliding doors.
Lunch was usually eaten out and this is a
picture of a typical lunch counter that held
various pots of food/soup/etc. These were
found sprinkled throughout the business
districts.
There were many different kinds of
homes, used for various things, etc. I
found the whole experience
fascinating. The murals on the walls,
the mosaics in the floors, etc. Houses
had wooden doors with locks.
Water was stored in watersheds at the north or
high end of Pompeii. These watersheds then
dumped into aqueducts. Gates were used to
regulate the water. Lead pipes were used to
distribute water from the aqueducts to wealthier
homes/40 public fountains/and the street cleansing water.
Rain/time prevented me from visiting Herculium, another buried city like Pompeii but
smaller.
Romans easily divorced. 90% of Roman women were uneducated, only the wealthy had
educated females.
There was so much to see, I saw about half of the items I later discovered would be neat
to see (such as the water systems at the north end, the city walls again at the north end,
the main bakery, and cemeteries outside the north wall). I also missed the theater at the
south end of the city. What I did see was neat and really gave a flavor for life in a Roman
seaport town.
Another good shot of Mt. Vesuvias.