Once a thriving ancient Roman City, on the ill-fated day of August 24, 79 AD, Pompeii and about 2,000 of its residents were buried under tons of volcanic ash by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.  While since then there have been a number of natural disasters with much higher death tolls, the enormity of this at that time was mind boggling.  In fact, Pompeii is still an active excavation site where new artifacts are being uncovered to this day. That is so crazy to me! And, though tourists, guides and workers here talk as much as anyone else, somehow the ancient streets seem to swallow sound as though it is disappearing into the past. Walking the streets so many people lived and died on almost 2000 years ago is a lot like walking into a haunted place. You can almost hear the whispers of the people who resided here so long ago and almost feel them brushing by, their leather sandals treading lightly on the paving stones. This was my second visit here (I was sixteen the last time) and my first time taking “the tour”.  While I am never one to take guided tours, I was very glad that I did here as I probably would have missed a number of key and interesting things. The tour took only about an hour with plenty of free time to wander afterwards and take photos. Pompeii was definitely one of the most incredible and fascinating places I’ve ever been.

 

Suffocated by volcanic gasses and covered in ash and debris, the bodies eventually decayed inside the hardening matter. This air space essentially formed a mold since the ash that had surrounded the person retained an imprint of the body. Excavators realized this and filled the air pockets with plaster. The resulting “plaster mummies” poignantly capture the human tragedy with clenched teeth and closed fists.  You can almost literally see the pain on their faces.

 

Another amazing find were these frescoes depicting menus of sexual positions and the services offered. Amazing that even back in ancient times, houses of prostitution were so popular and a booming business.

And if you look closely at the paving stones in the main forum area, and in the stones of the walls, phallic symbols point the way to these tiny brothels that populated the busiest area of the ancient city.