Pompeii (Warning: Archaeological tangent ahead!)

For me, Pompeii was in fact one of the hardest posts to write, simply because it was so overwhelming. There was simply so much I saw, and it was such a large site, I hardly knew where to begin. Because of this I have decided to select my highlights, and talk only about specific things lest this post completely run away from me. 

Pompeii was a site that I had always wanted to visit, ever since I learned of its existence as a child (and soon decided that I was going to be an archaeologist - after discarding my prior chosen profession of a lady farmer - I was a strange child)

One of the hardest things I always find with archaeology is the monumental task of it. There is so much still to be discovered, so many artifacts to be sorted and categorized, and so many of them simply sit in storerooms gathering dust. There is simply too much material culture (and this is only with the small percent that has been discovered) to do anything with it. Museums take the shiniest, fanciest pieces, researchers will look at others, but the majority of it simply left in boxes. Lack of funding is the biggest problem of course and not one I see being solved in the near future.

 For now then, I shall content myself with peering through the bars, affording a glimpse into the enormous storerooms that lie neglected. 

The history of the excavation of this site is an interesting one, as it was discovered very early on in the profession of archaeology. One thing I don't want to do is go on about the history of this place (suffice to say in 79AD Mt. Vesuvius erupted, decimating the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii, burying them so completely that they soon passed out of human memory.) Excavations  properly began in 1748 (which is really ridiculously early when you think of it and meant rather early techniques were applied) these were mostly at random with no plan or system in place and occurred sporadically over the years. (Indeed excavation at this point in time was more of a 'ooh something shiny! Keep it for the museum!' whilst throwing anything not eye-catching away, than the field we think of today). 

 The turning point in excavations at Pompeii was in 1863 when Giueseppe Fiorelli took over as head of the excavations, systematically exploring and documenting the site for the first time. Fiorelli is also the one who came up with concept of stratigraphy - working downwards through each archaeological layer, documenting each one and with the supposition that what was found lower down is older than the layers above. (Whilst not always true, this way of thinking is what most would call the beginning of modern archaeology)

Perhaps Fiorelli's most ingenious work however lies with the plaster casts of Pompeii. Excavators noticed hollows in the ash where human bones lay and realized these were the impressions left by people's bodies, long since decayed into nothing. Fiorelli therefore came up with the ingenious idea of pouring Plaster of Paris into these empty pockets. Once the ash around was removed, they were left with perfect replicas of people at the moment of their death, from their positions down to what sort of clothing they were wearing. In the 1980s another technique was developed using resin so as to make the cast transparent (and thus be able to see any jewelry within the cast) despite the advantage of this however, such a method is difficult and expensive to do, therefore it was unfortunately abandoned. (Oh Archaeology why are you never funded enough!?) 

Although 1,150 bodies were discovered at Pompeii, only 100 were preserved in plaster casts (a depressingly small number). What is interesting is what has been done with those remaining casts as new technology brings new discoveries all the time. In 2015 for example, CAT scans carried out on 30 of the casts revealed the excellent condition of their teeth as well as the fact that many of them suffered head injuries from falling rubble in the earthquakes accompanying the eruption. 

The Baths was probably my favourite building in all of Pompeii. Staring into the great basin with shafts of sunlight slicing the air in front of me made me feel like a real life Indiana Jones hunting for treasure in stunning archaeological ruins (minus the traps of course) this lasted until the hoards of tourists caught up with us and we had to flee (slightly less dramatic than Dr. Jones many escapes)

The brothel is always a popular tourist spot, and although I enjoyed looking around (stone pillows! That can't have been comfortable!) It was so packed that we soon fled in search of quieter places.

I expected to enjoy the villas however be fighting the crowds to see anything, and in this I was pleasantly surprised because they were empty. It was a long walk to them from the entrance of Pompeii and we had long left the tour groups behind, so perhaps it was for this that they were so quiet. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed wandering the rooms peacefully, taking in the shockingly colorful and well-preserved frescoes adorning the walls. 

Is anyone else reminded of hideous '70s style bathroom decor here?

I knew there was still much more we could have explored had we had more time, and even more buildings, roads and villas blocked off from the public which we would not have the opportunity to enter, however the day was getting late, and we were footsore and tired. Therefore instead we began to make our way back to the campsite, our icy cold bottles of Prosecco calling to us. I can without a doubt say Pompeii was worth the visit, and was indeed one of the most amazing archaeological sites I had ever been to. My lasting image of Pompeii in my minds eye is this one, the one grand buildings laid low, and Mt. Vesuvius still dominating the landscape, slumbering in the distance. It made me only too aware that it is simply sleeping, and could one day wake again.

To end on a lighter note, look at my feet! I have the unique ability of getting the dirtiest wherever I go (from flour on my elbows when I cook to toothpaste in my hair) and Pompeii was no exception, my feet so dusty my skin had changed colour! Yannick and Necia of course had no problems. How it happened is a mystery.