POMPEII

It seems certain that Pompeii, Herculaneum, and nearby towns were first settled by Oscan-speaking descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Campania. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Oscan village of Pompeii soon came under the influence of the cultured Greeks who had settled across the bay in the 8th century BC.

Pompeii is first mentioned in history in 310 BC, when, during the Second Samnite War, a Roman fleet landed at the Sarnus port of Pompeii and from there made an unsuccessful attack on the neighbouring city of Nuceria.

At the end of the Samnite wars, Campania became a part of the Roman confederation, and the cities became allies of Rome.Pompeii joined the Italians in their revolt against Rome in this war and was besieged by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 89 BC. After the war, Pompeii, along with the rest of Italy south of the Po River, received Roman citizenship.

Earthquakes damaged Pompeii and its surroundings in A.D. 63, but the people repaired their city, as they did not believe there would be more danger.

Vesuvius is a complex volcano with a long history. The oldest dated rock from the volcano is about 300,000 years old. It was collected from a well drilled near the volcano and was probably part of the Somma volcano. After Somma collapsed about 17,000 years ago, Vesuvius began to form.
The darkest day in the history of Pompeii was in the summer of 79A.D., when Vesuvius suddenly erupted. Streams of lava and mud poured by Pompeii and filled the town and its harbour. Hot ashes, stones, and cinders rained down on the city. The air was filled with poisonous gas and ashes. For hundreds of years the city was buried under ash. In the excavations the remains of about 2,000 people out of the 20,000 people that lived in Pompeii have been found in the excavations. Some of the victims were trapped in their homes and killed by hot ashes. Others breathed the poisonous fumes and died as they ran away. Archaeologists found moulds of the bodies preserved in the hardened ash. It was not lava that destroyed the city, showers of hot, wet ashes and cinders rained down on Pompeii and as these dried, they covered and sealed most of the city. There are numerous moulds of people in their final moments. The mould of a dog is chained to a post and struggled for hours before finally succumbing to the ash.

The city was left in ruins and uncovered for 1500 years after the volcanic eruption in the year AD 79. In 1595, excavations turned up the first ruins, but that only triggered decades of pillaging. Systematic excavations began in the mid-18th century, and despite the prior plundering, Pompeii turned out to be exceptionally well preserved.

The ruins also yielded up evidence of how victims died. Perhaps even more than the erotic frescos and graffiti, Pompeii is famous for the haunting plaster casts of people caught at the instant of death.

The 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius was the first volcanic eruption ever to be described in detail. From 18 miles (30 km) west of the volcano, Pliny the Younger, witnessed the eruption and later recorded his observations in two letters. He described the earthquakes before the eruption, the eruption column, air fall, and the effects of the eruption on people, pyroclastic flows, and even tsunami.

Pompeii was built in the shape of an oval about 3 kilometres around. A wall surrounded the city and the streets were paved with of lava. Ancient wheel ruts may still be seen in the pavements. The town square was in the centre of the city, surrounded by a group of buildings including two theatres, a coliseum, many temples, and several public baths.

The city traded wine, oil and bread products and had a port on the Mediterranean Sea. It was also produced things such as millstones, fish sauces, perfumes as well as clothes. Its inhabitants included wealthy landowners, rich merchants and manufacturers, shopkeepers, artisans, and slaves.

Pompeii has buildings that were common to many Roman settlements - amphitheatre, gladiator training ground, forums and markets. But the city is most famous for the frescos that have remained intact. These frescos adorn the walls of many houses and public establishments and give key clues to life in Pompeii with its festivals and routines. There, red paint that has been discovered in Pompeii that has never been replicated.
The House of Vetti is the name given to the building of two merchant brothers. Their names are known because of the rings that were found with their identity inscribed on the inside of each band. The house is spectacular for several reasons. One of it is the atrium, which used to collect rain that would water the garden and drip into the heating system. It is perfectly intact at the entrance of the house. An other one is the garden: the ash from Vesuvius fell so quickly and settled so rapidly that the flowers in the garden left an impression in the ash.

The House of Faun, one of the grandest homes in Pompeii, takes its name from the statue of a dancing faun in one of the residence's two atriums.
As the Ancient Pompeii was a Roman city, most of the people were Roman or of Roman descent but Pompeii was a centre for trade so many people from other countries came to trade with the people of the Roman city. The city was very culturally mixed except for one thing religion.
Only Roman churches were in Pompeii every other kind of church was illegal. Therefore the people had to be either atheist or start bowing down to Jupiter.
People in Pompeii usually worked as traders or merchants and were almost always very wealthy. Money had almost no meaning in Pompeii since almost everyone had more money then they knew what to do with. Poverty was almost non-existent and the crime rate was very low.

Pompeii was probably the wealthiest town in Rome and was a very popular place. Even then it was a popular tourist attraction and Pompeii's people lived prosperously.
There are ancient streets through the town to be found, with big stones in the middle of them and deep ruts around them. That’s because in ancient times, the streets were also the gutters and the trash-receptacles; everyone threw parts of their refuse and wastewater into the streets, and all of the muck drained along the gutters. The big stones in the centre of the streets were placed there to allow people to cross the streets on stepping-stones, so that they would not soil their feet in the muck. The ruts were made by wagons and chariots that drove along the streets, leaving the stones centred between their wheels. It was fascinating to think that the very ruts were the marks left by the passage of ancient horses and chariots!
There were a number of public baths for men and women, which look extremely elaborate and luxurious. They had separate areas for men and women, exercise areas, and different temperature pools inside.

In ancient times, the city had a plumbing system of lead pipes fed by aqueduct that brought running water to the town.

You’ll be amazed by Pompeii's amphitheatre and forum. In ancient times, they could flood the floor of the amphitheatre for aquatic performances. The forum would have been the main meeting area for townspeople, with various market areas off to the sides, as well as an impressive view of Mt. Vesuvius.