Unforgettable Pompeii

November 14

Sam:

Today we took the train to Pompeii. We walked to a grocery store near the entrance, because we wanted to have food in Pompeii and we didn’t want to pay tourist prices.

Pompeii was very big, made completely out of stone, and would have been burned to the ground if it was made of wood. Pompeii was destroyed by the volcano nearby called Mount Vesuvius when it erupted. Even before the volcano eruption, a few years earlier there was an earthquake in 62CE, which damaged many buildings in the city. Many had only recently been fixed when the volcano erupted in 79CE.

There is a giant town square that had shops on the sides and in the middle, there is a temple. There was a granary to one side that was used to store stuff, but now it is used for mostly holding casts of humans from Pompeii.

There was also a few amphitheatres and a giant one around the town and were used for various purposes.

In most of the houses, there was a shop of some sort underneath, and the house was on top so they could have a source of income.

We spent an entire day looking around, but we only saw a little bit of it. If you are planning on going anywhere around Pompeii, I would recommend it.

Jenn:

Pompeii was one of the places on my bucket list. I have wanted to visit for more years than I can remember. I grew up thinking that I didn’t like history, but it turns out I just didn’t like history textbooks and boring lectures. The history of civilizations absolutely fascinates me. I love learning about how people lived in the past and in different places around the world. I am constantly amazed by the amount of technology that was both created and lost over time.

Having written all that, Pompeii has always been so interesting to me because of the circumstances of its downfall. Unlike most ancient peoples I’ve learned about, this city wasn’t defeated by a stronger enemy but by nature itself. Our visit was incredibly eye-opening for our whole family.

If the kids were in school, Charlotte would be learning about ancient civilizations this year, so we took this opportunity to pretend we were living in Pompeii 2000 years ago. We learned what would be traded in the marketplace, what kinds of foods we might eat, and even that it was usually the poor families who ate out (rather than the more well off like today) because they couldn’t afford a house big enough for a kitchen to be in it. We sat in amphitheatres pretending to be entertained by mimes, gladiators, and plays. We discussed the bath houses and how bathing was a social event. The kids did a stellar job comparing our daily life to the lives of the ancient Pompeians(?).

It was stunning to see so much detail in the frescoes and tile work that still remains today.

Throughout the day, we were often reminded of the sudden, devastating end of this city. In several areas, there were casts of some of the bodies of people who died here. We learned that a scientist used a special technique to fill the spaces in the ash and rock left by bodies with concrete and the result is a shocking display where you can not only see the position of the body parts, but even, in some cases, the expressions on faces. We all experienced some deep emotions as we thought about the fear of the people as they attempted to flee the city, too late.

When it was time to leave, I was definitely not ready! I could have spent many days at Pompeii, just wandering around the many streets, contemplating life and people from two millennia ago.