The city of Pompeii was a thriving Roman city until August 24, 79 A.D. On that day, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the city under 12 to 20 feet of volcanic ash and the city was lost for nearly 1700 years. The city remained buried in its volcanic tomb until it was discovered in 1749. Because of how quickly the city was buried along with the hot ash and pumice, there is an extraordinary amount of details about everyday life preserved. There are human and animal figures frozen in time as well as tools, wine bottles and other artifacts. This incredible preservation helps create an amazing look into first century Roman life.
Karl Weber was the first to start true excavation of the site, however it was Guiseppe Fiorelli, in 1860, who realized the voids in the ash containing human remains were the forms of people's bodies. He created a technique of injecting plaster into the voids to recreate the forms of the volcano's victims.
Pompeii was a nice choice, I am sure the amount of information concerning the remains of the city is extensive. The title is certainly interesting, the images are very good, and the explanation of the plaster statues was helpful. The entry could be a little longer and have more outside links, but other than that, I think you are off to a good start.
ReplyDeleteWhat did surrounding Rome do after Pompeii was transformed into a ghost town? Who discovered it in 1749? How was it excavated? Are parts of the city still untouched? Why is Pompeii a world-recognized archaeological site? Is it because of its’ size, or the preservation of the volcanic ash, because of any prominent artifacts found there, or something else entirely?
I don’t know if there are any good video representations of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but a link would be cool. Also, if they have any tours available, there might be a blog you can connect to where the writer took the tour and describes their experience there.
Do the preserved figures offer an insight into the typical daily life of Rome, or are they all running for their lives? Are there any historical accounts of survivors or escapees? Is Vesuvius still an active volcano?
I hope that the questions and suggestions are all right, they are part of the assignment, but considering that this is the first post, it is both cool and a bit sneaky that it causes the reader to become more interested in the subject matter. So on that note, well done.