Ciao!
Visiting Pompeii was such a thrill and left me with so much to think about that I have decided to blog about it in two parts, maybe even three! This will be the first, but stay tuned for more!
Upon arriving in Pompeii outside of the ruins, my guide was a bit late. When we finally found one another, I offered to shorten the tour. I told her that if she needed to leave me early, I could find my way around the last part of the city. She jokingly scolded me. "No! Let's go! We will see it all! Now hurry up, Pompeii is waiting for you!" I loved what she said because for so many years, I feel as though I have been waiting for my chance to see Pompeii. Then again, this enormous city (more than 146 acres in all/only partially excavated at this point) waited its fair share of time to be discovered as well.
Dolores (my guide) took me through one of several entrances to the city - we walked up the "sea gate" where sailors would arrive by boat. It is important to note that the "sea gate" at present time is quite a distance from the sea. Originally, a person could anchor their boat and walk up a long ramp to enter directly through the city walls. This is because Vesuvius is still an active volcano. Each time it erupts, the explosions/lava/ash/mud create new land, making the coast wider than before.
To the right of this picture is the sea gate arch and the way I entered the city.
Originally, Vesuvius was one tall peak, which explains why the people of Pompeii and surrounding villages thought of it as a non-threatening mountain. Now when you look at it, you can see that it has peaks and ridges. Again, this change in form is a result of each eruption creating more land and changing the shape of the local landscape.
Below is a picture of Vesuvius today (imperfect/bumpy) at its peak.
As we walked up the sea gate path, Delores pointed out that the roads themselves were made of volcanic rock. The Pompeiians couldn't have known that the rocks they were using to build their very own streets were from an eruption that must have occurred long, long before their time. After all, if they had, they wouldn't have built their city in the path of the volcano!
Below is a picture of a typical Pompeiian road made of volcanic rock.
The point being, the volcano had erupted many times before Pompeii was constructed and settled...the people just didn't know it!
In any case, the roads are an important and interesting part of the city for several reasons.
* First of all, they are all made of that volcanic stone.
* Second of all, in the picture below you can see that there are small pieces of marble interspersed between the larger rocks. This was done to help the sailors who might arrive at the port late at night and need guidance to find the entrance to their city. The moon would reflect off of the marble making a lighted path to show them the way - pretty smart!
* Another thing to notice about the roads is that they are set far below the height of the sidewalks. Also, the "crosswalks" are made of large, high stones as pictured below. As sophisticated as the Pompeiians were, they hadn't figured out a reasonable system for managing their plumbing. Their roads were often filled with excess water and sewage - yuck. Of course, no one would want to step in the debris that ended up in the streets, so these kinds of stepping stones were installed to avoid the mess.
*Okay, here's the last thing about the roads. You can see in the picture below that there are actual grooves engrained into the streets that fit perfectly on either side of the stepping stones. These grooves were made by wheels of the carts that passed through town. There must have been a lot of traffic in Pompeii!
Pompeii is a time capsule...it was unearthed by careful excavation long after it was frozen in time by the ash and pumice which covered it when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.
Look carefully at the roads and pictures of the city you can see above. Does any of it remind you of the ways we plan and construct our cities today? I think we borrowed a lot from the Romans who had some great ideas about how cities should be organized.
Here's one last image that shows the grid system which helped people get from one place to the next in Pompeii. It reminds me a lot of Boston. What do you think?
More tomorrow!
š
Mrs. Babcock
Visiting Pompeii was such a thrill and left me with so much to think about that I have decided to blog about it in two parts, maybe even three! This will be the first, but stay tuned for more!
Upon arriving in Pompeii outside of the ruins, my guide was a bit late. When we finally found one another, I offered to shorten the tour. I told her that if she needed to leave me early, I could find my way around the last part of the city. She jokingly scolded me. "No! Let's go! We will see it all! Now hurry up, Pompeii is waiting for you!" I loved what she said because for so many years, I feel as though I have been waiting for my chance to see Pompeii. Then again, this enormous city (more than 146 acres in all/only partially excavated at this point) waited its fair share of time to be discovered as well.
Dolores (my guide) took me through one of several entrances to the city - we walked up the "sea gate" where sailors would arrive by boat. It is important to note that the "sea gate" at present time is quite a distance from the sea. Originally, a person could anchor their boat and walk up a long ramp to enter directly through the city walls. This is because Vesuvius is still an active volcano. Each time it erupts, the explosions/lava/ash/mud create new land, making the coast wider than before.
To the right of this picture is the sea gate arch and the way I entered the city.
Originally, Vesuvius was one tall peak, which explains why the people of Pompeii and surrounding villages thought of it as a non-threatening mountain. Now when you look at it, you can see that it has peaks and ridges. Again, this change in form is a result of each eruption creating more land and changing the shape of the local landscape.
Below is a picture of Vesuvius today (imperfect/bumpy) at its peak.
As we walked up the sea gate path, Delores pointed out that the roads themselves were made of volcanic rock. The Pompeiians couldn't have known that the rocks they were using to build their very own streets were from an eruption that must have occurred long, long before their time. After all, if they had, they wouldn't have built their city in the path of the volcano!
Below is a picture of a typical Pompeiian road made of volcanic rock.
The point being, the volcano had erupted many times before Pompeii was constructed and settled...the people just didn't know it!
In any case, the roads are an important and interesting part of the city for several reasons.
* First of all, they are all made of that volcanic stone.
* Second of all, in the picture below you can see that there are small pieces of marble interspersed between the larger rocks. This was done to help the sailors who might arrive at the port late at night and need guidance to find the entrance to their city. The moon would reflect off of the marble making a lighted path to show them the way - pretty smart!
* Another thing to notice about the roads is that they are set far below the height of the sidewalks. Also, the "crosswalks" are made of large, high stones as pictured below. As sophisticated as the Pompeiians were, they hadn't figured out a reasonable system for managing their plumbing. Their roads were often filled with excess water and sewage - yuck. Of course, no one would want to step in the debris that ended up in the streets, so these kinds of stepping stones were installed to avoid the mess.
*Okay, here's the last thing about the roads. You can see in the picture below that there are actual grooves engrained into the streets that fit perfectly on either side of the stepping stones. These grooves were made by wheels of the carts that passed through town. There must have been a lot of traffic in Pompeii!
Pompeii is a time capsule...it was unearthed by careful excavation long after it was frozen in time by the ash and pumice which covered it when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.
Look carefully at the roads and pictures of the city you can see above. Does any of it remind you of the ways we plan and construct our cities today? I think we borrowed a lot from the Romans who had some great ideas about how cities should be organized.
Here's one last image that shows the grid system which helped people get from one place to the next in Pompeii. It reminds me a lot of Boston. What do you think?
More tomorrow!
š
Mrs. Babcock
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