We descended from Vesuvius down a thin road straight into Pompei. Possibly we had been following the path of a pyroclastic flow from hundreds of years ago. It still intrigues me that so many people live in this area. Vesuvius will erupt at some point and many people will die. I know there are evacuation plans in place but even so the collateral damage could be massive and the cost in human life is inevitable. Naples and this area is ranked amongst the seven most dangerous places in the world to live – tectonically speaking that is – along with the likes of Miami and Istanbul. Apparently, all risks considered, Afghanistan is the most dangerous country in the world and Tijuana, Mexico is the most dangerous city (138 homicides per 100,000 people).
With a head full of thoughts of death and destruction, we arrived at the ruins of Pompei. Here we spent an entire day looking at scenes of death and destruction. Pompei, as a town, was doing fine until AD 79 when Vesuvius erupted and buried the whole conurbation under 5m of volcanic ash. 11,000 happy Romans living in 160 acres of wealthy town with fine buildings and luxurious private houses. The first 18 hours of the eruption was a rain of pumice. Nasty, but not deadly. Most people could take the hint at this stage and run away. Then came the pyroclastic flows and they will have killed everyone that was left in a few minutes. Fast moving currents of hot gas and ash flowing down the sides of the volcano. Travelling at hundreds of kilometres an hour while reaching temperatures up to 1,000 °C. Death would be instant. A day later it was all over. More than 1,000 bodies have since been identified.
In the immediate aftermath of the eruption there would have been little to see of Pompei. The town had disappeared under a flat plain of ash and the coastline was 700m seaward of where it used to be. Over the next few years the town was raided occasionally by robbers but over time both the name and location were forgotten. 500 years later the area was further buried when Vesuvius erupted again.
Pompei was “rediscovered” at the beginning of the nineteenth century and has been the target for much archaeological excavation since. Organic material, including humans, has rotted away over the intervening 2,000 years. In places this left human shaped voids in the ash. By injecting plaster into these moulds it is possible to recreate the shape of the original person.
Today much work is still in progress. As in many historic sites there is a tension between conservation, excavation, restoration and tourism. Much of the town was well preserved by the ash, which excluded air and moisture. Once building and artifacts began to be excavated they also began to deteriorate through natural and made-made erosion. Approximately two thirds of the city has been excavated but is now suffering from exposure to the elements. Some buildings have even collapsed. Many artifacts have been removed to museums elsewhere and weather protection has been added to some of the constructions. Restoration, the rebuilding of damaged features and artifacts, can be considered a form of conservation even though modern techniques and materials will sometimes be involved. Presenting parts of the site in something closer to their original condition makes it easier, especially for lay people, to understand something of life in Roman times. This in turn heightens the tourist experience and tourists, especially in Pompei, are a major source of income.
The site is quite vast and we spent a lot of time wandering around some very similar looking buildings. There is not much by way of explanations. I would have liked to be able to read the stories behind more of what we could look at. If I were feeling cynical, then I might suggest that the lack of posted information was to support the local guides, of which there were many, each herding their small flock of tourists around. There are also audio guides available with a little earpiece you can wear. However, no only do these tend to be quite soporific but they also preclude conversation and readily get out of sync with your location. We looked around for an entire day. It was, for the most part, very interesting, but, also, an awful lot to take in for one day.
The last building we visited was the amphitheatre. This is one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatres. Built in 70 BC, it was damaged by earthquake in 62 AD, restored and then buried in volcanic ash a mere 17 years later. In 1971, Pink Floyd made a concert film, Live in Pompei. It is a great film but there was not really a live audience for the concert. However, 45 years later, in 2016 David Gilmour came back to the amphitheatre to do a genuine live performance – now considered to be the first performance to live audience since 79 AD. We discovered a barred passage in the outside wall that looked to lead deep into the building. There was an indistinct light in the far distance and if you listened carefully, the sounds of Pink Floyd were playing.
