In this post, I am showcasing the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy. As many of us know, Pompeii was a Roman city which was completely buried in volcanic lava & ash after a cataclysmic eruption of the nearby Vesuvius volcano. The eruption took place in 78AD and was rediscovered in 1748 (source: Wikipedia). Since then it has captured the imagination of many, and became a subject of many a book & movie (most famously, The Last Days of Pompeii).
I visited Pompeii as part of my trip to Italy in March, 2005. Since it is not very conveniently served by public transportation, we took a guided tour from Rome. Our guide was a colourful character - animated, alive and with a lilt in his voice. I love the way most Italians speak English, with their soft 't's and almost musical accent.
The shot above is of the Forum of the city of Pompeii, with the Lattari Mountains in the background. It was the social, political and religious center of the city. The shot below offers a tantalizing & touching insight into how little time the citizen of Pompeii had before fate struck them a cruel hand. When Pompeii was excavated, the archaeologists poured Plaster of Paris into the cavities left where human bodies once had been. Then they broke open the natural casts formed by ash & lava, and found shapes like the one below.
The two shots below illustrate how the houses of ancient Romans used to be. Well to do families had a open courtyard in their houses, quite literally the center of all activities in the home (first photo below). The second photo below shows a kitchen hearth, preserved almost intact under the ash.
The last one is my personal favourite. This is an ancient zebra crossing to allow pedestrians to cross the road. Note how the stepping stones have gaps between them to allow the chariot wheels to pass through - ingenious!
