Pompeii
Remember the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980 when the volcano lofted ash and cinders miles high while simultaneously flattening 250 square miles of forest? Volcanologists have a name for the blast effect that laid down a million trees like so many matchsticks all pointed in exactly the same direction: pyrotechnic flow. If you have never witnessed a pyrotechnic flow be glad because people don’t live to tell about it — gases in the temperature range of 500-600 degrees traveling at 150 miles per hour. Boom you’re dead. Thank goodness when Mount Saint Helens got angry no population center stood nearby.
Alas when Mount Vesuvius exploded on August 24, 79 AD, Pompeii stood at its foot.
Picture it.
Imperial Rome, at the apogee of its power and influence in the period known as the Pax Romana, manages its affairs with their version of the Internet — the empire-wide system of paved roads over which their legions travel at terrifying speed and communications move at rates not exceeded until the telegraph replaced the Pony Express in the middle of the 19th century. The Appian Way, the first and most important road of them all, connects Rome to the southern port city of Brindisi where the grains of colonial Egypt are offloaded for transshipment to the mother city. Halfway along, the Appian Way passes through the campagna felix (happy land) around Naples where then as now the volcanic soils provide abundant grapes and olives and figs and lemons and barley and every good thing. And there, just there, short kilometers off the Appian Way, stands the port city of Pompeii, irrigated by an aqueduct stretching clear from the Apennine Mountains and frequented by the swells of Rome. If you transplanted Las Vegas to San Francisco you wouldhave a modern approximation. A bawdy Baghdad by the Bay.
Pliny the Younger happened to be on the far side of the Gulf of Naples on the morning when Vesuvius touched off, close enough to feel it and see it but too distant to witness what befell the 15,000-odd residents of Pompeii who were at that moment enjoying life in a vibrant Roman city with two amphitheaters, forty-three public fountains, residences adorned with tile and lapis lazuli and gold, a colonnaded central plaza covering acres, swimming pools, gymnasia, and hot water baths. Most likely they ran or took cover as the ground shook and the rain of ashes commenced, but no matter. When the pyrotechnic flow swept through they died in instants and were locked in their death agonies and entombed by the black blizzard that fell for five days to a depth of thirty feet, silted in the harbor entirely, and moved the coastline kilometers away to the west.
For one thousand five hundred years Pompeii lay buried until 17th-century canal diggers struck a marble wall and wondered how it got there. For the next 150 years enterprising looters sank shafts and tunneled for treasure until the Bourbon King, Charles III, sent an engineer in 1748 to systematically remove several hundred acres of thirty-foot deep compacted ash and disclose the ruins beneath. Imaging undertaking that with picks and shovels. It took a while, but by 1863 then Project Manager Giuseppe Fiorelli noticed that in certain places as they approached the level of the original streets the shovels made hollow booming sounds promising cavities beneath from which human remains had long since disappeared. So he drilled holes, poured in liquid plaster, and chipped away the cinders when the plaster dried.
You should go. At Pompeii you can walk the marble Roman streets and sit in the Roman theater and witness the plaster reproductions of human beings whose day suddenly turned to catastrophe. And looming over all, a mountain with its top blown clear away
Pompeii
Vesuvius
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hutch adventure 2 
Hey Bill and Lori,
THANKS for the history lesson. Already knew this, of course ISwiss education); but a nice refresher.
Reminds us that we are vulnerable. Here today, gone in a split second. Hope you are having a fabulous time.
Jean
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Good one!!!! Pete Henry
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Holy smokes. Good reminder to embrace the day! One never knows what tomorrow delivers. Well, it’s a quiet Sunday afternoon here in Sonoma. So far, so good.
Cheers, dear ones!
Love,
Jacque
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There’s a wonderful series (20) of novels by Lindsey Davis, that take place all over the Roman Empire. I think one of the characters dies at Pompeii.
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Great to read the brief refresher of Pompeii: I was in Washington with St. Helens — the darkness, ash, fear, staying put, running away — awesome, magical, frightening, awestruck, appreciating nature and free from the epicenter. Of course nothing like your views of the present. Be well and safe. Blessings
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Fun reminder of when we were there…. did you see the signs to the “gentlemen’s clubs” ?
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Yes, I gather Pompeii was a little more than bawdy. Now in a modern day Pompeii– Amsterdam. Very cool place
B
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On Jun 1, 2015, at 12:13 AM, Hutchadventure 2 wrote:
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You remain the fascinating story teller I have known and loved, Bill. Pompeii is awesome…. been there three times and looked down into Vesuvius too. You make it all come back with rich detail. And of course the reminder of how precious every day is. Love to you and Lori. Safe and fun travels.
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I visited Pompei with my family when I was eight years old and I will never forget it. It spooked me and fascinated me. The lesson of here today, gone tomorrow made a lasting impression!
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I saw the movie. Gotta get there some day.
makransky
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How enlightening. Jealous! Looks like you are having an amazing time!!! Enjoy.
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Wish I could be with you on this journey. So enjoying your travel log.
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Always happy to see one of your posts waiting in my inbox, love the history lessons, you bring travel to life! And where I am in this point of my life with a lively 18 month old and 3 1/2 year old…love “traveling” via your posts. Sorry to hear of your Dad’s passing as well. See you at church upon your return, Amy Seyms
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David and I were in Italy for a month in 1984. When we came to Pompeii we thought we could see enough in a few hours. Wrong. We spent the entire day roaming the ancient streets and thinking of the people whose lives had been wiped away by the power of Vesuvius. It would be wonderful to return since much more has been uncovered since we wandered through Pompeii. Hope you are having a wonderful time.
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Went to Pompeii in 1965 and was amazed as a 12 year old that the colors were still on the walls, the mosaics were beautiful, and the citizens were frozen in time. The Twilight Zone came to life that day for me – it was unlike anything I had ever seen before as a child. It wasn’t until I was in my 50’s when I went to Ephysus that I saw another town that was being excavated that was just as beautiful, but haunting.
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