Tourists visiting Southern Italy and its pearl - the city of Naples, have the opportunity to enjoy beautiful views, including the majestic mountain, located just a few kilometers from the city limits.

A mountain of only 1281 meters does not look intimidating, especially if you do not know its name - Vesuvius. It is the only active volcano in continental Europe and one of the most dangerous volcanoes known to mankind.

To those who appearance Vesuvius will not seem intimidating, locals will advise you to go to the coast of the Gulf of Naples, east of Naples. Three ancient cities are located there - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, life in which ceased on one day on August 24, 79, when the volcano spoke in full force.

In the 1st century AD, there were no serious and systematic observations of volcanoes, including Vesuvius. And they would hardly have helped - Vesuvius did not show activity with bronze age and was considered extinct.

In 74 BC Spartacus and the gladiators who joined him at the very beginning of their uprising hid from their pursuers precisely on Vesuvius, covered with lush vegetation.

Local residents did not feel any threat from the proximity to the volcano.

"Ancient Roman Rublyovka" was founded by Hercules

The largest of the ancient cities adjacent to Vesuvius was the city of Pompeii, founded in the VI century BC. In the city, which, after the capture of the Roman dictator Sulla in 89 BC, was considered a colony of Rome, lived, according to modern estimates, about 20 thousand people. It was an important point on the trade route between Rome and southern Italy, and such a good location was one of the reasons for its heyday.

In addition, Pompeii can be called something between an ancient resort and the “ancient Roman Rublyovka” - many noble citizens of Rome had their villas here.

The nearby Herculaneum, like Pompeii, was founded in the 6th century BC. Its foundation was attributed Hercules, who performed one of the feats in these places and “marked” this event by founding not even one, but two cities (the second was just Pompeii).

The city, located directly on the seashore, was used as a port for a long time and developed successfully. However, by 79 best time for Herculaneum it was already in the past - the city was badly damaged by a powerful earthquake that occurred in 62, and by the time of the new catastrophe no more than 4,000 people lived in it.

By the year 79, Stabiae was considered a city only conditionally. The once rather large settlement was actually completely destroyed during the "visit of Sulla" in 89 BC, as a result of which Pompeii lost its independence.

They did not begin to restore the city, however, representatives of the Roman aristocracy from among those who did not make their way to the "Rublevka" in Pompeii chose it for their villas.

End of the world in the afternoon

Less than 20 years before the eruption of Vesuvius, a large-scale earthquake occurred in this area. A number of villages near Herculaneum and Pompeii were completely destroyed, in the cities themselves there were very serious destruction.

Human memory, however, can quickly erase unpleasant memories. For 17 years, much of the destroyed was rebuilt. This is especially true of the city of Pompeii, which has become even better than before. The sights of the city were the temple of Jupiter, the forum and the amphitheater, capable of accommodating almost the entire population of Pompeii.

Life in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae went on as usual until August 24, 79. Moreover, on this day, people flocked to the Pompeian amphitheater to watch the gladiator fights.

The eruption began in the afternoon of August 24 and came as a complete surprise to residents of nearby towns and villages. Vesuvius threw a huge cloud of hot ash into the sky. The thermal energy released by the volcano during the eruption was many times greater than the energy released during the bombing of Hiroshima. A cloud of stones, ash and smoke reached a height of 33 kilometers. The western part of the volcano exploded and fell into an expanded crater.

Despite all the horror of what is happening, for the inhabitants of the cities, the disaster was not at all lightning fast. Ash fall, although it made it difficult to breathe and made it difficult to move around the city, was still not a fatal phenomenon. Everyone who was able to assess the impending threat began to rapidly leave the cities that were in danger. But not everyone could objectively assess the degree of danger.

Save yourself who wants

Famous Roman writer Pliny the Elder, who in 79 held the post of commander of the galley fleet in Misenum on the shores of the Gulf of Naples, with the onset of the eruption, attracted by its grandeur, went to Stabiae in order to observe the violence of the elements and help the victims. Arriving in Stabiae a few hours later, he could not leave them because of the low tide. Calming the frightened inhabitants and expecting a change in conditions at sea, Pliny the Elder suddenly died. According to one version, sulfurous fumes became the cause of his death.

From his nephew's letters Pliny the Younger it is known that the catastrophe developed over a long period of time. Pliny the Elder, for example, died on the night of August 26, that is, more than a day after the start of the eruption.

According to researchers, a fatal blow to Pompeii and Herculaneum was caused by pyroclastic flows - a mixture of high-temperature (up to 800 degrees Celsius) volcanic gases, ash and stones capable of reaching speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour. It was pyroclastic flows that caused the death of most of the people who remained in Herculaneum.

However, these flows hit the cities not earlier than 18-20 hours after the start of the disaster. All this time, the inhabitants of the city had the opportunity to avoid death, which, obviously, the majority took advantage of.

It is very difficult to establish the exact number of victims of the disaster, because numbers of a different order are called. But, according to modern estimates, most likely, out of 20 thousand inhabitants of the city of Pompeii, about two thousand died. In Stabiae and Herculaneum, the number of deaths was less due to the fact that they themselves were much smaller than Pompeii.

Pliny the Younger did not witness what happened in Pompeii and Herculaneum, but he left evidence of a panic in Myzene that survived during the disaster: than her own) pressed down on us in a dense mass, pushing us forward when we left ... We froze in the midst of the most dangerous and terrifying scene. The chariots, which we dared to take out, shook so violently back and forth, although they stood on the ground, that we could not hold them, even by placing large stones under the wheels. The sea seemed to roll back and be pulled away from the shores by the convulsive movements of the Earth; certainly the land expanded considerably, and some marine animals ended up on the sand ... Finally, the terrible darkness began to dissipate little by little, like a cloud of smoke; daylight reappeared, and even the sun came out, although its light was gloomy, as it happens before an approaching eclipse. Every object that appeared before our eyes (which were extremely weakened) seemed to have changed, covered with a thick layer of ash, as if with snow.

Canned History

After the first impact, a second wave of pyroclastic flows followed, which completed the job. Pompeii and Stabiae were under a layer of ash and pumice 8 meters deep, in Herculaneum a layer of ash, stones and dirt was about 20 meters.

Who died in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae?

Among the victims of the eruption were many slaves, whom the owners left to guard the property. Elderly and sick people who could not leave the cities because of their condition died. There were those who decided that they could wait out the disaster in their own home.

Some of the victims of the eruption, having already left the city, remained dangerously close to it. They died from gas poisoning released during the rampage of Vesuvius.

Huge masses of ash and pyroclastic flows "mothballed" the cities and those who remained in them, in the state in which they were at the time of death.

The surviving residents did not try to excavate at the site of the tragedy, simply moving to a new place.

The dead cities were remembered only in the 18th century, when, after a new eruption of Vesuvius, workers in this area stumbled upon ancient Roman coins. For some time, the territory became a paradise for gold miners. Later they were replaced by rarity hunters in the form of statues and other historical relics.

Full-fledged excavations of the city of Pompeii began Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli. It was he who discovered that in place of the bodies of people and animals buried under a layer of volcanic ash, voids formed. By filling these voids with gypsum, it was possible to reconstruct the death poses of the victims of the eruption.

With Giuseppe Fiorelli, the systematic work of scientists in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae began, which continues to this day.

As for Vesuvius, 2014 marks the 70th anniversary of its last major eruption. However, scientists are convinced that the longer he is silent, the more powerful his next blow will be.

The excavations of ancient Pompeii are the only place where you can see what the ancient Roman city really looked like. There are many ruins of settlements of the Roman period in the world, for example, but it was thanks to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that the city of Pompeii was preserved in its original form.

We didn't have much luck while visiting Pompeii as it was pouring with rain. There are many photos from the archaeological site on this page. Many of them may seem faded to you, but we never edit photos based on relevance, even at the expense of beauty.

By the time of the eruption of Vesuvius, the city's population consisted of half the indigenous people, and the second half consisted of the Romans who moved here. In the excavations, ceramics or simply drawings with Greek inscriptions are constantly found, evidence that Greek culture in Pompeii was still widespread.

The architecture of Pompeii has become almost completely Roman, you can be sure that you will visit the Roman city and see how the people of the great conquerors who conquered the entire Mediterranean lived.

17 years after the earthquake in 79, a terrible catastrophe occurred, the volcano Vesuvius began its most powerful eruption. A huge amount of volcanic ash was thrown into the air, which covered the nearby area with a layer about 6 meters high. The entire city was buried, only parts of the columns and walls of the tallest houses remained above the surface.

When excavations began in 1748, engineers discovered that the city of Pompeii was preserved in its original form and now you can visit it and see firsthand how the Romans lived two thousand years ago. Now archaeological work is still ongoing, another 25% of the city has not been excavated.

Where are and how to get to the excavations of the city of Pompeii.

Attention! On the Italian the city of Naples is called "Napoli". Keep this in mind when looking for the train or bus you need.

There are two routes that will suit you:

First: Train Naples - Sorrento (Napoli - Sorrento). In this case, you need to get off at the Pombei Scavi station.

Second: Train Naples - Scafati (Napoli - Scafati). In this case, you need to get off at Pompei station.

These trains have slightly different routes and stop stations near the excavations are different.

Both trains can be boarded at several locations. The stations are near the metro: Porta Nolana (lines 3 and 4), Piazza Garibaldi (lines 3 and 4), Via Gianturco (line 4), San Giovanni a Teduccio (line 4), Barra (line 4), San Giorgio a Cremano ( 3 line). Please note that metro lines 3 and 4 are not underground, they are funiculars.

The most interesting thing you can see at the excavations of Pompeii.

The first thing you should pay attention to is the roads. The pride of the Roman state, some of them, laid two thousand years ago, still serve in Italy. The pavement of the streets in the city is made of hewn large stone.

The street had a roadway (in the center of the photo) and sidewalks for pedestrians. Pay attention to large stones - this is a very interesting Roman invention. The stones served for pedestrians to cross the street in rainy weather. We appreciated such a system personally, just at the time of our visit to Pompeii, it was raining.

In turn, the wagons drove freely along the street, the wheels passed between the stones. See more photos of roads in the city in a small photo gallery below.

Not all buildings in Pompeii are in good condition. Some of them will not cause serious interest in an ordinary tourist. We will talk about the most interesting places in the town.

The most luxurious house in Pompeii belonged to Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his nephew (although this is more guesswork than facts). It is called the house of the faun. At the entrance to the house there is a pool with a bronze figurine of a faun in the center, hence the name. The statue is quite small in size, about knee-deep for an adult. Faun is not quite ordinary. Most often, this deity is depicted with goat legs and hooves. This sculpture has human legs, but the features and facial expression, hairstyle and posture are exactly the same as it is customary to depict this particular deity. The house had a huge size of 110 by 40 meters. Such a house was a sign of the highest status of the owner, given that it was located within the city walls. An even larger structure could be built outside the walls, the land there was cheap and there was plenty of it. Inside the walls, only the richest citizen of the city could afford such a mansion.

During excavations in the faun's house, a huge amount of jewelry made of gold and silver was found, the most valuable find of precious metals was a gold bracelet in the shape of a snake wrapped around the owner's hand.

But even more valuable finds were mosaics, of which several dozen were found. They have all been removed and replaced with copies. The originals can be seen in the Naples Museum. The most valuable mosaic is called the Battle of Issus. It shows an important battle between Alexander the Great and the Persians led by King Darius. You can see a photo of the original from the Naples Museum below.

Unfortunately, part of the mosaic has been lost forever. The painting itself dates back to 100 BC, that is, it was created more than 200 years after the death of Alexander the Great. Presumably, this is a copy of an even more ancient Greek mosaic.

In Pompeii, in the house of a faun, you can see a copy installed here in 2005. A team of nine craftsmen from the city of Ravenna worked on this copy for two years, led by Severo Bignami. It is impossible to photograph it from above and in its entirety, you will find photos of the sections in a small photo gallery below.

On the grounds of the house was a central building with a pool for collecting rainwater, separate buildings for slaves, a kitchen, a large garden, and several other outbuildings. You will find photos from the house of the faun in a small gallery below, the garden, of course, was completely destroyed by the eruption, in the photo you will see the reconstruction of the garden.

In Pompeii, several bakeries with millstones for milling flour and ovens for baking bread have been preserved. The Romans did not bake bread at home, but bought it right next to the bakeries, which worked almost around the clock. In most houses and apartments of ordinary citizens there was no device for cooking hot food at all. You will find a photo of the bakery in a small gallery below.

The next building in Pompeii falls under the (18+) category, so those readers who are under 18 years old are prohibited from reading this part of the article. It is clear that this will not stop anyone, but it was worth a try.

This is a well-preserved brothel, which was located on the second floor of the building. Such establishments in Roman cities were not chic. Usually the brothel consisted of several rooms without windows and even without ventilation.

The beds were very small size and covered with straw and skin on top. Customers and attendants (we know how to pick up decent synonyms) were sitting rather than lying down. The only decoration of the rooms were frescoes and images of clearly erotic content. See photos in the gallery below.

The large amphitheater is poorly preserved, the steps in it were wooden and were completely destroyed by the eruption. It was used mainly for gladiator fights and similar bloody performances for the crowd.

The Maly Theater is better preserved; its benches were made of stone. In the small theater, they most often staged theatrical performances, disputes or speeches of speakers.

The central place of the city was the square, which in Roman cities was called the forum, it served both as a market and as a meeting place for citizens on political issues.

Some historians claim that the forum accommodated all the inhabitants of the city, which is doubtful. The population of Pompeii at the time of its heyday was more than 20,000 people. In the photo below you see the figures of people, we think that 20,000 people simply will not fit in the square.

During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the death of the city, according to various estimates, from 2 to 16 thousand people died. About 1000 bodies were found during excavations, but in a very in an interesting way. People were littered with ashes right in those poses in which they died. Hollows have formed in the ashes and they are filled with plaster to make a cast.

Agree that there are places in the world that you want to visit no matter what .. One of these places for me was the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy.

And in today's article I will tell you a lot of interesting things about the city of Pompeii, about what is invented and exaggerated and about what is shocking in reality, we will walk (video at the end of the article) through the streets, we will discover secrets that you could collect for a long time on Runet , and now you can find out from my article. It will be informative and interesting, pleasant reading and viewing.

Pompeii today photo

Pompeii destroyed the volcano

Perhaps this is the most famous tragedy in the world associated with a volcano, so it’s no secret to anyone that it was Mount Vesuvius that caused the death of the city of Pompeii. But only around this story there are a lot of legends and exaggerations, which we will understand along the way ...

Volcanic eruption in Pompeii

In fact, Pompeii is far from the crater, so I understand the inhabitants of the city, who found it difficult to believe that the consequences of a natural disaster could take their lives. Moreover, people did not know such a thing as a volcanic eruption and did not understand the danger of such a neighborhood.

What does Pompeii mean in translation?

Pompei - this is the Italian word for the city, which was founded in the 6th century BC by the Osci (ancient Italian people). The city was formed as a result of the union of five settlements.

Pompeii where is located:

Pompeii location relative to Vesuvius

If you look at the map above, you will see that Vesuvius is located between Pompeii and Napoli (the city of Naples), so the tragedy that claimed the lives of the city of Pompeii in 79 could have done the same to the inhabitants of Naples. And judging by historical chronicles, then not only should but could, since the direction of the wind played a big role in the fact that the eruption went to Pompeii. Usually the wind blew towards Naples, but on this particular day, everything was different.

Pompeii how to get from Naples

The distance between cities is less than 25 km. You can get there in many ways, ranging from a taxi or car rental to the cheapest one - an electric train. We are familiar with this train firsthand, as we rode it from Sorrento to Naples. The route just involves a stop in the city of Pompeii.

Further in the section of sights of the city of Pompeii, I posted a photo of one of the main streets. These streets are remarkable for many nuances, ranging from high curbs to strange infantry crossings. In the photo, as you understand, this cannot be depicted, so again I suggest you see and hear everything in the video.

Many tourists, having arrived in Pompeii, are in a hurry to see a small house with a strange name Luponarium. This is a public house of that time. I don’t even know how to explain such a rush of tourists in this direction ... Perhaps this is due to the fact that, according to one of the versions, Pompeii did not die by accident and the volcanic eruption was God’s punishment for the depraved lifestyle of its inhabitants, who indulged in love joys too much and lost true values ​​... After such legends, tourists can't wait to see what this depravity was because of which the whole city died .. As for me, these are just tricks to lure tourists and exaggerated stories, because, you see, that at all times and in all the cities of the world have such institutions and there are those who visit them regularly, but this does not mean that curses and natural disasters should be sent to them. The only thing I agree with is that many tourists are simply interested in seeing what brothels were like in ancient times. In order not to torment you in expectations, I tell and show the main thing (the rest is on the video).

Lupanar photo

The photo below is an image on the wall of a lupanarium. There are many such images here (above eye level along the entire perimeter of the corridor inside). It's not just depraved pictures - it's a menu. Well, yes, the menu, because if you come to a restaurant, then you have to choose from what they are ready to offer you, and so, sorry for frankness, but everything is the same here: you choose how you want to indulge in love pleasures from pictures.

The building of the lupanaria is small. In the middle there is a corridor with a menu, and on the sides are rooms with stone beds, on which everything happened. In addition to the fact that the beds are stone, there is another striking feature here - the length of the beds is no more than 170 cm. This is because the height of people at that time rarely exceeded 160 cm. Yes, this is interesting) For me personally, this was the most interesting in our visit to the luponarium, the rest is more interesting for those who have something to compare an institution of this kind with.

Pompeii people in ashes

When you walk around the city, there is no feeling of celebration and fun, because you initially understand that you are walking along the streets, along which people ran in agony, who suffered death. Thanks to the voids that were discovered during the excavations of the city, it was possible to restore the poses to which people died and even the expressions of their faces, disfigured by horror. Behind bars on one of the main squares, finds are exhibited as museum exhibits, from which goosebumps go. For example, this figure of a boy who curled up in the element of hopelessness and died here. On the right in the photo you see a bowl that is now filled with coins, but I didn’t throw it over the lattice fence, because, to be honest, this idea jars me ... I don’t know for what purpose this bowl was installed next to this poor young man, but I don’t like the way tourists have adapted it at all. I am for the tradition of throwing coins into fountains, but people, this is not a fountain, this is the face of death and a city in which 2,000 people died ... Why are you throwing coins? Do you want to come back here? Or is it charity for a dead child? Excuse me for being emotional, but this is blasphemy .... A show that I support the masses. I did not support him, but you decide for yourself, but just be aware of why you are sticking your hand through the bars and trying to get a coin into this bowl ...

Pompeii photos from excavations

Archaeologists continue their work tirelessly and another quarter of the way to explore the city has not been completed. Maybe new finds will surprise us and open up new facets of city life, we will look forward to it.

pompeii finds

In addition to figures of people, there are figures of dead animals, as well as dishes and interior items of that time.

After visiting the city of Pompeii, we went to Villa Mystery, which recently opened after restoration. It is truly a great pleasure to see one of the richest and most beautiful houses that has preserved stunning art and luxurious interiors to this day. I will not describe Villa in the article, but I propose to finish and watch a video that will answer questions not covered in the article.

I really enjoyed our visit to the city and I am very grateful to our guide, who wished to remain behind the scenes, but who plunged us into wonderful world With interesting history of which we have become a part.

See you on the pages of the AVIAMANIA website and the AVIAMANIA YouTube channel.

Pompeii video

What do we know about the ancient city of Pompeii? History tells us that once this prosperous city died instantly with all the inhabitants under the lava of an awakened volcano. In fact, the history of Pompeii is very interesting and filled with a lot of details.

Foundation of Pompeii

Pompeii is one of the oldest Roman cities, which is located in the province of Naples in the Campagna region. On the one hand, the coast (which was previously called Kumansky), and on the other, the Sarn River (in ancient times).

How was Pompeii founded? The history of the city tells that it was founded by the ancient Oski tribe in the 7th century BC. These facts are confirmed by fragments of the temple of Apollo and the Doric temple, whose architecture corresponds to the period when Pompeii was founded. The city stood just at the intersection of several paths - to Nola, Stabiae and Kuma.

Wars and submission

The first harbinger of impending disaster was an earthquake that occurred on February 5, 63 BC.

Seneca, in one of his writings, noted that since Campagna was a seismically active zone, such an earthquake is not uncommon for it. And earthquakes happened before, but their strength was very small, the inhabitants simply got used to them. But this time, expectations exceeded all expectations.

Then in the three neighboring cities - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples - buildings suffered greatly. The destruction was such that over the next 16 years, the houses could not be fully restored. All 16 years there were active restoration works, reconstructions, cosmetic repairs. Also, the plans included the construction of several new buildings, for example, the Central Baths, which could not be completed until the day of the death of Pompeii.

The death of Pompeii. The first day

The inhabitants tried to restore Pompeii. The history of the death of the city indicates that the catastrophe began in 79 BC, in the afternoon, August 24, and lasted 2 days. The eruption of what was until then thought to be a dormant volcano destroyed everything. Then, under the lava, not only Pompeii perished, but also three more cities - Stabiae, Oplontia and Herculaneum.

In the afternoon, a cloud appeared over the volcano, consisting of ash and steam, but no one special attention did not pay. A little later, a cloud covered the sky over the entire city, and ash flakes began to settle on the streets.

The tremors coming from underground continued. Gradually, they intensified to such an extent that wagons overturned, finishing materials crumbled from houses. Along with the ashes, stones began to fall from the sky.

The streets and houses of the city were filled with suffocating sulphurous fumes, many people simply suffocated in their homes.

Many tried to leave the cities with valuables, while others who were unable to leave their property died in the ruins of their homes. The products of the volcanic eruption overtook people both in public places and outside the city. But still, most of the inhabitants were able to leave Pompeii. History confirms this fact.

The death of Pompeii. Second day

The next day, the air in the city became hot, the volcano itself erupted, destroying all living things, all buildings and property of people with lava. After the eruption, there was a lot of ash that covered the entire city, the thickness of the ash layer reached 3 meters.

After the catastrophe, a special commission arrived at the scene of events, which stated the "death" of the city and that it could not be restored. Then it was still possible to meet people who were trying to find their property on what was left of the streets of the former city.

Along with Pompeii, more cities perished. But they were discovered only thanks to the discovery of Herculaneum. This second city, which was also at the foot of Vesuvius, did not die from lava and ash. After the eruption, the volcano, like the affected cities, was covered with a three-meter layer of stones and ash, which hung menacingly like an avalanche that could come down at any moment.

And soon after the eruption, torrential rain began, which carried away a thick layer of ash from the slopes of the volcano and a column of water with dust and stones fell directly on Herculaneum. The depth of the stream was 15 meters, so the city was buried alive under the stream from Vesuvius.

How Pompeii was found

Stories and stories about the terrible events of that year have long been passed down from generation to generation. But after a few centuries, people lost the idea of ​​where he was. lost city Pompeii. The history of the death of this city gradually began to lose facts. People lived their lives. Even in those cases when the remains of ancient buildings were found by people, for example, digging wells, no one could even think that these were particles ancient city Pompeii. The history of excavations began only in the 18th century and is indirectly connected with the name of Maria Amalia Christina.

She was the daughter of King August III of Saxony, who left the Dresden court after her marriage to Charles of Bourbon. Charles was king of the Two Sicilies.

The current queen was in love with art and looked around the halls of the palace, parks and other possessions with great interest. And one day she drew attention to the sculptures that were previously found before the last eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Some of these statues were found by chance, while others - at the suggestion of General d'Elbeuf. Queen Mary was so struck by the beauty of the sculptures that she asked her husband to find new ones for her.

Vesuvius last erupted at that time in 1737. During this incident, part of its top flew into the air, the slope was left bare. Since the volcano had not been active for a year and a half, the king agreed to start searching for sculptures. And they started from the place where the general had once finished his search.

Search for statues

Excavations took place with great difficulty, since it was necessary to destroy a thick (15 meters) layer of hardened lava. For this, the king used special tools, gunpowder, the power of workers. In the end, the workers stumbled upon something metallic in the artificial shafts. So three large fragments of giant bronze horses were found.

After that, it was decided to seek help from a specialist. For this, the Marquis Marcello Venuti, who was the keeper of the royal library, was invited. Further, three more marble statues of Romans in togas, the body of a bronze horse, as well as painted columns were found.

Discovery of Herculaneum

At that moment, it became clear that there would be more to come. The royal couple, arriving at the excavation site on December 22, 1738, examined the discovered stairs and an inscription stating that a certain Rufus built the Theatrum Herculanense theater at his own expense. Experts continued excavations, because they knew that the theater means the presence of the city. There were a lot of statues that the water current brought to the back wall of the theatre. This is how Herculaneum was discovered. Thanks to this find, it was possible to organize a museum, which had no equal at that time.

But Pompeii was at a shallower depth than Herculaneum. And the king, after consulting with the head of his technical detachment, decided to postpone the excavations, taking into account the notes of scientists regarding the location of the city of Pompeii. History has marked all memorable events with the hands of scientists.

Pompeii excavations

So, the search for Pompeii began on April 1, 1748. After 5 days, the first fragment of the wall painting was found, and on April 19, the remains of a man, from whose hands several silver coins rolled out. It was the center of the city of Pompeii. Unfortunately, not realizing the importance of the find, the experts decided that they needed to look elsewhere, and filled up this place.

A little later, an amphitheater and a villa were found, which was later called the House of Cicero. The walls of this building were beautifully painted and decorated with frescoes. All art objects were seized, and the villa was immediately filled back.

After that, for 4 years, the excavations and the history of Pompeii were abandoned, attention shifted to Herculaneum, where a house with the Villa dei Papiri library was found.

In 1754, experts again returned to the excavations of the city of Pompeii, to its southern part, where an ancient wall and the remains of several graves were found. Since then, the excavations of the city of Pompeii have been actively undertaken.

Pompeii: an alternative history of the city

Today, there is still an opinion that the year of the death of Pompeii is a fiction based on a letter that allegedly describes the volcanic eruption to Tacitus. Here questions arise about why in these letters Pliny does not mention either the names of the cities of Pompeii or Herculaneum, or the fact that it was there that the uncle of Pliny the Elder lived, who died in Pompeii.

Some scholars refute the fact that the catastrophe occurred precisely in 79 BC, due to the fact that in various sources you can find information about 11 eruptions that occurred in the period from 202 to 1140 AD (after the incident that destroyed Pompeii). And the next eruption dates only to 1631, after which the volcano remained active until 1944. As you can see, the facts show that the volcano, which was actively active, fell asleep for 500 years.

Pompeii in the modern world

The history of the city of Herculaneum and the history of Pompeii remain very interesting today. Photos, videos and various scientific materials can be found in the library or the Internet. Many historians are still trying to unravel the mystery of the ancient city, to study its culture as much as possible.

Many artists, including K. Bryullov, in addition to their other works, depicted the last day of Pompeii. The story is that in 1828 K. Bryullov visited the excavation sites and even then made sketches. In the period from 1830 to 1833, his artistic masterpiece was created.

Today the city has been restored as much as possible, it is one of the most famous monuments of culture (along with the Colosseum or Venice). The city has not yet been fully excavated, but many buildings are available for inspection. You can walk along the streets of the city and admire the beauty, which is more than 2000 years old!

Pompeii is studied in school textbooks, and ancient finds in excavation sites have not ceased to amaze scientists and ordinary people for more than one century. modern people. Story this city really deserves close attention.

Vesuvius volcano

Vesuvius is an active volcano in the vicinity of Naples, with a height of 1281 meters. This is one of the most dangerous continental volcanoes in Europe, and one of the most famous, largely due to the fact that almost 2000 years ago it buried several ancient cities and nearby villages. Among them are such cities as Stabiae, Herculaneum, and the most famous of them - Pompeii, which was located closest to Vesuvius of all other settlements.

Pompeii city

Pompeii was a typical ancient Roman city, until the tragic events of 79 AD, when during the day the whole city was littered with ash and covered with red-hot lava of the volcano. The excavations of the city began with late XVI century, when during the creation of the Sarno River and the construction of a well, fragments of the city wall were discovered, as well as several buildings underground.

However, no excavations were carried out there until the middle of the 18th century. Initially, the scientists involved in the excavations assumed that this was the city of Stabia, and not Pompeii. And only excavation antique statue with an inscription preserved in excellent condition, proved that it was Pompeii. The main emphasis in the excavations fell on the neighboring Herculaneum, and only three sites were excavated in Pompeii itself.
During the cataclysm, most of the inhabitants left their homes, but more than 2,000 people were buried alive under many meters of volcanic ash.

It is worth noting that thanks to this fact, everything in the city has been preserved as it was before the eruption. It is difficult to answer the question, people did not leave, seeing a large-scale catastrophe. Perhaps the residents thought that this was another earthquake that had happened repeatedly before, or simply did not realize the full scale of the disaster. Either way, no one will know for sure. The city was “mothballed” to some extent, so now tourists have the opportunity to see with their own eyes the life of ancient people. There you can even observe the plaster bodies of people in their last moments of life.

Many of the city's structures have been excavated and have been preserved in stunning condition. In particular, the basilica, the city hall, the temple of Lares, the temple of Vespasian, the Macellum market, the comitia, the temple of Apollo, the temple of Jupiter, the Great and Small theaters, many statues and sculptures, as well as other structures.

Excavations are ongoing today, about 20% of the territory remains unexcavated, and the city itself is a museum under open sky and