History & Haunting of : Pompeii, Naples ,Campania ,Italy A place full of Ghosts The terrifying tragedy that occurred at Pompeii, one could only imagine how many trapped or lingering souls there might be at the base of Mount Vesuvius... When Pompeii was rediscovered, the bodies of several Pompeians were found where they died. They were covered in mud and ash, which encased and preserved them. Once excavated, plaster was poured over their bodies, making their clothing and visages visible to the eye. It is a jarring experience to see these people up close, expressions of fear on their faces are obvious. Unlike the mummies in Egypt, you can see the faces of people frozen in time in their last moments. These victims can be found throughout Pompeii, however the largest gathering of them can be found at what has been called the Garden of the Fugitives. It is often believed that the ash is what killed the Pompeians, but new research suggests the heat may have gotten up to 250 degrees fahrenheit. This would explain why there were some deaths in undamaged buildings. travelthruhistory.tv/ THE first time I visited Pompeii was in 1970 and I was struck by the eeriness of the place. It was full of ghosts and created an incredible feeling of tragic history. At the time I advised anyone to put a visit on the things-to-do-before-I-die list. On my recent visit, I was still unnerved by the atmosphere: stepping stones across roads that were worn down by the feet of those ancient Romans~Ericscott Brisbane Australia Pompeii during the day is one thing...Pompeii at night is a totally different animal. Many tourists will not go near the ruined city after the sun starts to fall because people claim to hear blood-curdling screams at dusk and into the night. Another common creepy experience is the ever-present scent of sulfur that fills ones nose. The people who give tours at the city of Pompeii will tell their own personal stories of terrifying nights in Pompeii. Its as if the city still holds its original residents...its as if many of the volcanos victims are trapped under the ash still to this day. Shadows frequent the city of ruined Pompeii...many of which seem to loom and then disappear when one looks in the direction of the blackness. Are these shadows indeed what some people call shadow people or are they simply the trapped souls of the people who lost their lives to the volcano almost two thousand years ago? Or could these shadows be something more sinister...something more dark that revels in the energy of a city ruined in chaos and ash? kittythedreamer.hubpages/ The city of Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Researchers believe that the town was founded in the seventh or sixth century BC by the Osci or Oscans and was captured by the Romans in 80 BC. By the time of its destruction, 160 years later, its population was approximately 11,000 persons, and the city had a complex water system, an amphitheatre, gymnasium and a port. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.was cataclysmic for the town. Evidence for the destruction originally came from a surviving letter by Pliny the Younger, who saw the eruption from a distance and described the death of his uncle Pliny the Elder, an admiral of the Roman fleet, who tried to rescue citizens. The site was lost for about 1,500 years until its initial rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre in 1748.The objects that lay beneath the city have been well 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 between 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. The archaeological digs at the site extend to the street level of the 79 AD volcanic event; deeper digs in older parts of Pompeii and core samples of nearby drillings have exposed layers of jumbled sediment that suggest that the city had suffered from other seismic events before the eruption. Three sheets of sediment have been found on top of the lava that lies below the city and, mixed in with the sediment, archaeologists have found bits of animal bone, pottery shards and plants. Carbon dating has determined the oldest of these layers to be from the 8th–6th centuries BC (around the time the city was founded). The other two strata are separated either by well-developed soil layers or Roman pavement, and were laid in the 4th century BC and 2nd century BC. It is theorized that the layers of the jumbled sediment were created by large landslides, perhaps triggered by extended rainfall. The town was founded around the 6th-7th century BC by the Osci or Oscans, a people of central Italy, on what was an important crossroad between Cumae, Nola and Stabiae. It had already been used as a safe port by Greek and Phoenician sailors. According to Strabo, Pompeii was also captured by the Etruscans, and in fact recent[timeframe?] excavations have shown the presence of Etruscan inscriptions and a 6th-century BC necropolis. Pompeii was captured for the first time by the Greek colony of Cumae, allied with Syracuse, between 525 and 474 BC The people and buildings of Pompeii were covered in up to twelve different layers of tephra, in total 25 meters deep, which rained down for about 6 hours. Pliny the Younger provided a first-hand account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from his position across the Bay of Naples at Misenum, in a version which was written 25 years after the event. His uncle, Pliny the Elder, with whom he had a close relationship, died while attempting to rescue stranded victims. As Admiral of the fleet, Pliny the Elder had ordered the ships of the Imperial Navy stationed at Misenum to cross the bay to assist evacuation attempts. Volcanologists have recognised the importance of Pliny the Youngers account of the eruption by calling similar events Plinian. The eruption was documented by contemporary historians and is generally accepted as having started on 24 August 79, relying on one version of the text of Plinys letter. However the archeological excavations of Pompeii suggest that the city was buried about three months later. This is supported by another version of the letter which gives the date of the eruption as November 23. People buried in the ash appear to be wearing warmer clothing than the light summer clothes that would be expected in August. The fresh fruit and vegetables in the shops are typical of October, and conversely the summer fruit that would have been typical of August was already being sold in dried, or conserved form. Wine fermenting jars had been sealed over, and this would have happened around the end of October. Coins found in the purse of a woman buried in the ash include one which features a fifteenth imperatorial acclamation among the emperors titles. These cannot have been minted before the second week of September. So far there is no definitive theory as to why there should be such an apparent discrepancy Reviving a Child from Ancient Pompeii (Artistic Reconstruction) VIDEO HERE > https://youtube/watch?v=g9C1vLsBpO4 Photo 1 Pompeii Garden of the Fugitives 02 CC BY-SA 3.0view terms Photo by Lancevortex Photo 2 Temple of Venus photo by Lord Pheasant at Plaster casts were made during the archaeological excavations and they are surprisingly realistic. When you are studying ancient times, there are no photos to help you relate to the humans you are studying, but this is pretty darn close.en.wikipediaThe Temple of Venus Pompeiana lies immediately to the right on entering the city by way of the Marina Gate. The goddess Venus Pompeiana was the patron goddess of Lucius Cornelius Sulla as well as of the city of Pompeii. Prior to the founding of the Roman colony the site had been occupied by houses but these were cleared away in the early years of the colony to make way for the temple complex. In less than 250 years the temple was twice built and twice destroyed; a third building was in the course of construction at the time of the eruption. Photo 3 by volcanic ruins of the ancient city of Pompeiigateway-destinations- photo 4 Entombed where they fell. Photo 5 by Paul Vlaar - neep.net~Walking the cobblestone streets as the Pompeians did, will give you a unique feeling of awe. It is a humbling experience to walk along the same streets that those fateful people did in their time. To touch the building, to lay your eyes on the same sights they did… it gave us a feeling of kinship. You will feel the presence – the life – of this bustling city among the ruins. Pompeii is the only ancient city that exists as it did during its original era. Their homes and gathering places remain with relative wear unobstructed. Art historians have used the frescoes that are visible in the homes as a testament to what life was like. In that way, Pompeii serves to teach us about history Photo 6 by Jennifer Lyn King Photo 7the plaster cast of the poor dog that was part of the St. Paul touring exhibit of Pompeii.adventure-trekker/? Photo 8 Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times A boathouse on the ancient seafront of Herculaneum, Italy, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius. By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO Published: November 14, 2012 HERCULANEUM, Italy — They are poignant snapshots of sudden death: huddled clusters of skeletal remains in what were once beachfront warehouses, immortalized for eternity when Mount Vesuvius smothered this ancient Roman town in A.D. 79. “They died of thermal shock as they were waiting to be saved via the sea,” Domenico Camardo, an archaeologist, said recently as he surveyed dozens of modern-day skeletal casts of long-ago denizens. They carried with them jewelry, coins, even “20 keys, because they were hoping to return home,” Mr. Camardo added. “They didn’t understand that it was all about to end.” nytimes- Photo 9 Vesuvius nowMount Vesuvius has erupted many times. The famous eruption in 79 AD was preceded by numerous others in prehistory, including at least three significantly larger ones, the best known being the Avellino eruption around 1800 BC which engulfed several Bronze Age settlements. Since 79 AD, the volcano has also erupted repeatedly, in 172, 203, 222, possibly 303, 379, 472, 512, 536, 685, 787, around 860, around 900, 968, 991, 999, 1006, 1037, 1049, around 1073, 1139, 1150, and there may have been eruptions in 1270, 1347, and 1500 The volcano erupted again in 1631, six times in the 18th century, eight times in the 19th century (notably in 1872), and in 1906, 1929, and 1944. There has been no eruption since 1944, and none of the post-79 eruptions were as large or destructive as the Pompeian one. Photo 10 The eruptions vary greatly in severity but are characterized by explosive outbursts of the kind dubbed Plinian after Pliny the Younger, a Roman writer who published a detailed description of the 79 AD eruption, including his uncles death Art by Joseph Wright of Derby - Art collection of the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA 1774
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:53:03 +0000
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