55. A visit to Pompeii

55. A visit to Pompeii

I have always been fascinated about the story of Pompeii and had been reading more about it as we got closer. What I was not prepared for was the amount that has been uncovered from what I understood as being a town completely engulfed in volcanic ash and debris. There is now very little volcanic ash or debris to be seen but there is a town well preserved although roofs and walls may be missing you can still see and  envisage what life was like in the days before the volcanic destruction. 

The roads, the shops, the Villas, the Forum, the Temples all seemed to show a picture of life in ancient Pompeii including the terrible doom suffered by the inhabitants with their encased bodies in lava ash. There was a warning at the time but some did not heed it and suffered the tragic consequences.

An open air theatre where satirical plays were performed. 

A corner of a court yard of a wealthy owner

The interior of a Villa

A laid out garden with a stream running through the garden

The Villa of Venus called so because of this painting 

This painting of a servant girl who I am sure has 6 toes!

This rather gruesome picture of a lady walking with a decapitated head looking very angry!

This room is designed to relax away from the hot sun in the coolness provided by a waterfall cascading down  the far wall

A decorated room for entertaining 

A wounded soldier being attended to by a woman who maybe his wife

This is a pub or drinking house where food could also be bought. The round pots embedded in the serving counter would contain hot or cold food. 

This was the Villa of a wealthy merchant with a glorious mosaic floor with details of hunting scenes and the well preserved mosaic dog at an open door.

This was a bath which would be for family as well as entertaining guests

The kitchen just as it was when the eruption occurred. 

Another Villa of a wealthy person with the central pond for a fountain

The Villa of a very wealthy individual who had an architect, a freed slave, design and build for him

The tragedy shown by the encrusted preserved body of a woman who must have died in agony.  

What was this person trying to do when the eruption consumed them

The cause of the tragedy still overlooks Pompeii and the surrounding area but sleeping at present although scientists say it is still unpredictable