Pompeii

:Pompeii is not to be confused with the Roman general Pompey.

Lost for 16 centuries

Thick layers of ash covered two towns located at the base of the mountain, and eventually their names and locations were forgotten. Then Herculaneum was rediscovered in 1738, and Pompeii in 1748. These towns have since been excavated to reveal many intact buildings and wall paintings. The towns were actually found in 1599 by an architect named Fontana, who was digging a new course for the river Sarno, but it took more than 150 years before a serious campaign was started to unearth them. Giuseppe Fiorelli took charge of the excavations in 1860. It was he who devised the technique of injecting plaster into the spaces left by the decomposed bodies to perfectly recreate the forms of Vesuvius's victims. Until that time, Pompeii and Herculaneum were assumed to be lost forever.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some have theorized, without proof, that Fontana initially found some of the famous erotic frescoes and, due to the strict modesty prevalent during his time, reburied them in an attempt at archaeological censorship. This view is bolstered by reports of later excavators who felt that sites they were working on had already been visited and re-buried. A detailed discussion of the erotic art of Pompeii, with pictures, can be found in a separate article.

Related Topics:
Fresco - Archaeological - Separate article

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Forum, the baths, many houses, and some villas remained surprisingly well preserved. A hotel (of 1,000 square meters) was found a short distance from the town; it is now nicknamed the "Grand Hotel Murecine".

Related Topics:
Forum - Villa

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pompeii is, in fact, the only ancient town of which the whole topographic structure is known precisely as it was, with no later modifications or additions. It was not distributed on a regular plan as we are used to seeing in Roman towns, due to the difficult terrain. But its streets are straight and laid out in a grid, in the purest Roman tradition; they are laid with polygonal stones, and have houses and shops on both sides of the street. It followed its decumanus and its cardus.

Related Topics:
Decumanus - Cardus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~