The plaster models in the ruins of Pompeii allow us to picture the last moments of the people and the animals: we can still see the slave tearing at his leg irons, the dog writhing in pain, the people clasped together in love and despair.
Their graffiti also tells us something about their lives before they suffered that inferno of pumice and gas rolling over their city:
♥Lovers are like bees in that they live a honeyed life.
♥Atimetus has got me pregnant.
♥I hope your piles irritate you so that they burn like they’ve never burned before.
♥Nobody is gallant unless he has loved.
♥If anyone does not believe in Venus, he should gaze at my girlfriend.
Below are more fascinating details about Vesuvius and Pompeii:
The bread of the rich contained yeast and therefore was soft and fluffy. The bread of the poor was unleavened (containing no yeast) and was therefore flat and hard, a little like pita bread. You see, inequality permeates even the most basic aspects of life.
People used dice in Pompeii and they were not above cheating. Loaded dice have been found in the city; they had been weighted to fall on some numbers more often.
Most of the people who died in Pompeii survived for the first 22 hours or so, but were killed by the intense heat and buried by the series of pyroclastic surges between 6.30 and 7.30am on August 25th, 79AD (almost 24 hours after the first explosion from Vesuvius).
The ash, pumice and sand reached a height of 4 metres, burying the buildings so effectively that after several years had passed, people began to forget where the city had once stood. It was only in 1744 that a farmer who was digging his land touched a statue with his shovel, accidentally discovering the most important archaeological site ever found.
Even though 2,000 people died, it is estimated that 10,000 people survived. They were the ones who fled from the city well before the pyroclastic surges began in the early hours of 25th August.
Pliny the Younger, who wrote the sole surviving eye-witness account of the eruption, had this type of volcanic event named after him. A “Plinian” eruption is one characterised by repeated explosions.
This video formed part of the Melbourne Museum’s exhibition on Pompeii in 2009. I watched it there in 3D and had the feeling that I was about to be hit by a piece of pumice or covered in volcanic ash. It was unnerving but unforgettable. I felt relieved to be safely in the future world.
Use the recommended sites below to find out more about Pompeii and Herculaneum. Write a comment in which you
(a) inform others of what you have discovered. Make sure you save your comment in a Word file as well.
(b) comment on the graffiti above. What does it tell us about the people who lived in ancient Pompeii?
♦How Stuff Works: What would happen if Vesuvius erupted today? This link also includes a number of slides showing the site of Pompeii today.
♦Pliny – a Primary Source: Don’t try to read this whole document, but skim through it. This account shows you how people reacted at the time.
♦An Account from the Smithsonian
♦Excellent photos of Pompeii along with an artist’s reconstruction
At 1 p.m. on August 24, A.D. 79 Vesuvius erupted And after nine hours of pain and agony Pompeii and Herculaneum were put out of their misery. An eye witness Pliny wrote about the event of that horrible day. “My uncle was stationed at Misenum, in active command of the fleet. On 24 August, in the early afternoon, my mother drew his attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance. He called for his shoes and climbed up to a place which would give him the best view of the phenomenon. It was not clear at that distance from which mountain the cloud was rising.”
Pliny wrote about everything that happened. When archaeologists started to uncover Pompeii they discovered holes in the ash. When plaster was poured into these holes, the shapes that came out were the shapes of people and animals just before their death. Because of all the ash Pompeii and Herculaneum were almost completely preserved. That is how we know so much about ancient Rome; unfortunately to know what we do Pompeii and Herculaneum had to fall.
Some of the graffiti shows hatred and meanness it makes me think that the people of Pompeii were very centered on their status and making themselves feel more important by making others jealous
On August 24 in 79AD at 1:00pm the beginning of the end started. With minor tremors and water running out in the days leading up to the volcanic explosion, the wealthy cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were in denial of what was about to occur. Twenty-five hours prior to the eruption, 10,000 people fled out of the city to escape disaster. Between 6:30 and 7:30pm Mount Vesuvius erupted in a 22-metre high, grey surge of smoke rapidly rising. The rocks that erupted from the volcano were 900 Fahrenheit (432 Degrees Celsius). It’s believed that at least 2,000 people who stayed behind in the city of Pompeii were buried alive during the middle of the night in the deep ashes and blistering rocks that fell from the eruption. Only one person left an eye-witness account of the eruption and he is named Pliny. He described the terrible disaster that occurred, a primary source of Mt. Vesuvius.
The graffiti that was written during the times of when people lived in Pompeii tells us a large amount about the people. It explains that there was quite a lot of cruelty and harshness that occurred. However this graffiti also suggests that love was a major factor of their lives and was considered to be quite significant.