Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 13 to 20 ft of volcanic ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
If you are staying either in the Amalfi Coast or Naples, it is an easy and interesting half day experience. In my case I did it after checking out my hotel in Sorrento – Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, and on my way to my next destination in Ravello. BTW both scenic drives – Sorrento to Pompeii along the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii to Ravello through the montains, were breathtaking. Mind I was there during off-seasons, therefore my drives were approx. one hour each way. During high season, drives might take up to 3 hours each way.
By the time of its destruction, 160 years later, its population was estimated at 11,000 people, and the city had a complex water system, an amphitheatre, gymnasium, and a port.
The eruption destroyed the city, killing its inhabitants and burying it under tons of ash. The objects that lay beneath the city have been preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and moisture. These artifacts provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana.
During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when he or she died.
My favorite part of my visit, with my private guide, was visiting the houses – like Casa del Menandro, learning about their ways of leaving, preserved mosaics and frescos, and the intricated and advsnced hydraulic system and impluvium. The impluvium is the sunken part of the atrium in a Greek or Roman house (domus). Designed to carry away the rainwater coming through the compluvium of the roof.
By Carlos Melia – Full Story at the Carlos Melia Blog
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