Pompeii was a vibrant town of the roman empire

which was buried under the ash of Mount

Vesuvius. The town was excavated in the 19th and
20th century CE and due to its excellent state of
preservation it has given an invaluable insight into
the Roman world and may lay claim to be the
richest archaeological site in the world in terms of
the sheer volume of data available to scholars.
Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site status
and is one of the most popular tourist attractions
in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors
every year.
Pompeii remained mostly untouched until 1748,
when a group of explorers looking for ancient
artifacts arrived in Campania and began to dig. They
found that the ashes had acted as a marvelous
preservative: Underneath all that dust, Pompeii was
almost exactly as it had been 2,000 years before. Its
buildings were intact. Skeletons were frozen right
where they’d fallen. Everyday objects and household
goods littered the streets. Later archaeologists even
uncovered jars of preserved fruit and loaves of
bread!
Many scholars say that the excavation of Pompeii
played a major role in the neo-Classical revival of the
18th century. Europe’s wealthiest and most
fashionable families displayed art and reproductions
of objects from the ruins, and drawings of Pompeii’s
buildings helped shape the architectural trends of
the era. For example, wealthy British families often
built “Etruscan rooms” that mimicked those in
Pompeiian villas.
Today, the excavation of Pompeii has been going on
for almost three centuries, and scholars and tourists
remain just as fascinated by the city’s eerie ruins as
they were in the 18th century.
 History of Pompeii
The area was originally settled in the Bronze
Age. The site of Pompeii and the surrounding
area offered the twin advantages of a
favourable climate and rich volcanic soil which
allowed for the blossoming of agricultural
activity, particularly olives and grapes.
in Greek mythology, a hint at the volcano’s
power was found in the legend
that Hercules had here fought giants in a fiery
landscape. Indeed, the nearby town
Herculaneum, which would suffer the same
fate as Pompeii, was named after this heroic
episode.
Greeks established colonies in Campania in
the 8th century BCE and the Etruscans were
also present until they were defeated by
Syracusan and local Greeks at the battle of
Cumae in 474 BCE.
 Rediscovering Pompeii
Pompeii remained mostly untouched until
1748, when a group of explorers looking for
ancient artifacts arrived in Campania and
began to dig. They found that the ashes had
acted as a marvelous preservative:
Underneath all that dust, Pompeii was almost
exactly as it had been 2,000 years before. Its
buildings were intact. Skeletons were frozen
right where they’d fallen. Everyday objects
and household goods littered the streets.
Later archaeologists even uncovered jars of
preserved fruit and loaves of bread!
Many scholars say that the excavation of
Pompeii played a major role in the neo-
Classical revival of the 18th century. Europe’s
wealthiest and most fashionable families
displayed art and reproductions of objects
from the ruins, and drawings of Pompeii’s
buildings helped shape the architectural
trends of the era. For example, wealthy British
families often built “Etruscan rooms” that
mimicked those in Pompeiian villas.
Today, the excavation of Pompeii has been
going on for almost three centuries, and
scholars and tourists remain just as fascinated
by the city’s eerie ruins as they were in the
18th century.
 Villa of mysteries
This is the most famous country villa in the whole
area around Mount Vesuvius . The villa owes its
fame to the extraordinary wall paintings in the
triclinium which make up an almost photographic
sequence of theatrical scenes. The building can be
divided into two areas. The main area is
exclusively residential and was built in the 2nd
century B.C. with the sole purpose of providing a
luxurious and comfortable place in which to live.
The other part is linked to the villa’s role as a
working farm and hence was built with a view to
accommodating the produce of the surrounding
countryside. In the farm area, on the right of the
main entrance, archaeologists found the wine-
press that was situated in the rooms were the
wine was made. On the opposite side of the
peristyle are the kitchens, two ovens in the
courtyard and a large lavatory. Beyond the kitchen
courtyard we find a bath-house dating from the
pre-Roman era which was subsequently used as
store rooms
The fresco images you will see in the Villa of
Mysteries seem to part of a ritual ceremony
aimed at preparing privileged, protected girls for
the psychological transition to life as married
women. The frescoes in the Villa of Mysteries
provide us the opportunity to glimpse something
important about the rites of passage for the
women of Pompeii. But as there are few written
records about mystery religions and initiation
rites, any iconographic interpretation is bound to
be flawed. In the end we are left with the
wonderful frescoes and the mystery.
Nevertheless, an interpretation is offered, see if
you agree or disagree.
 AMPHITHEATRE
The amphitheatre at Pompeii is the earliest known
permanent stone amphitheatre in Italy (and the
rest of the Roman world). It was constructed after
70 BC, and belongs to the period of the Roman
conquest and colonisation of the town.
An inscription reveals that two local officials,
Quinctius Valgus and Marcius Porcius built the
amphitheatre at private expense. These men
would have expected this act to enhance their
personal power and prestige, and we know from
graffiti found throughout the town that
gladiatorial games were extremely popular.
The amphitheatre could seat around 20,000
people, and served not only Pompeii but also the
inhabitants of surrounding towns. In AD 59, there
was a riot in the amphitheatre, in which
spectators from Pompeii and the nearby town of
Nuceria fought each other, with the result that the
Emperor Nero banned games at Pompeii for a
period of ten years.
 House of the Vettii

The House of the Vettii in the Vicolo di

Mercurio is one of the most interesting in
Pompeii. This was the home of two well-off
middle-class brothers, and it shows that it was
not just the aristocracy who lived well in
elegantly decorated homes. This house has
some of the best frescoes, as well as a
peristyle that still has its original marble
decoration, and whose garden has been
replanted, so you can see what it looked like
when people lived here. The kitchen still
contains its cooking utensils. From their style,
art historians think that the fresco painting in
the interior was done after the devastating
earthquake of AD 62. The most famous of the
frescoes are in the triclinium, where they
completely cover the walls in faux panels with
mythological scenes and a long frieze of
cupids. The colours are especially intense. The
walls under the colonnade of the peristyle are
also painted to imitate panels.
 RECENT DISCOVERY

A well harnessed horse along with two more

horses have been recently discovered on
December 23,2018. Archaeologists have
unearthed the petrified remains of the horse
and saddle in the stable of an ancient villa in a
Pompeii suburb. the horse likely belonged to
a high-ranking military officer, possibly a
general, or a high-ranking military magistrate.
After the animals died and were buried in ash,
their bodies decomposed, leaving impressions
in the hardened ash. Archaeologists filled the
voids with plaster, then removed the
surrounding ash to see what had been there.
This discovery has unleashed a new
prediction. Archaeologists have predicted that
the eruption might have surprised the people
while they were preparing to make their
escape .