Capturing an Instant
Pompeii: Walking in an Instant in a Distant Time
A stroll down ancient roads
Years ago, we went to Pompeii. I’ve been learning about the city for years, and I have always been fascinated by it. One summer while visiting Amantea, we took a day trip, and I was blown away.
Just the train ride to get there was an adventure with amazing mountain views.
The entrance doesn’t properly explain how large the ruins are. Pompeii was not some small village; it was a dense city.
It was a lot of walking, and it seemed mostly endless because there weren’t many features aside from Mount Vesuvius to know where you were.
An old coliseum was on the outskirts of town.
We had an audio recording as a guided tour, but a lot of what we saw was so overwhelming that a modern day app on a smart phone would have been better.
The roads were in great shape, and some of the fields had crops growing by the people who take care of the ruins.
I was really surprised how large all these places were as well as how developed the streets were.
I loved the simple marvels like sewers. We take waste management for granted, but it is a modern marvel.
The side-walk was tall, close to a foot off of the ground, and there were steps to cross the road at regular intervals. These steps allowed horse wagons to go past. The road most likely was covered in animal poop hence the high side-walks.
There were large public spaces, and I kept trying to imagine what it would have been like to live there 2,000 years ago.
The craziest part is that it was still being excavated. Most of the city was still buried.
I liked how the statues had been setup. It made the city feel more real.
They had so many artifacts from back then.
Of course, there were sewers too.
The old roads were amazing. I can only hope the indentions on the road were caused by multiple wheels going over the road.
The garden spaces were beautiful; I just wanted to live there.
There were some large indoor spaces and bath houses.
Pizza ovens too! Probably not actually pizza because I don’t think pizza was yet invented as we know it, but who knows?
Two castings of people who died. It seems like it was a very chaotic time.
More roads!
There were quite a few mosaics as well.
I had another chance to go in the arena, and I was just surprised at how similar it looks to modern arenas.
I loved all the side roads and store fronts.
There was a bread shop, and the ovens had a neat design.
Of course, there is a whore house. You can look up more pictures of that, but it is certainly interesting how intact it was.
There were a few public toilets; apparently, everybody poops.
And there were lead pipes. I don’t know if they were for water supplies or sewage, but it was another sign of how advanced ancient Pompeii was.
I really loved Pompeii, and I’d love to go back with a few more snacks and more water so I could browse around for longer than a few hours.
The city itself is like taking a picture, a literal snapshot of what the city looked like then. Of course, the price of the snapshot was the destruction of the city, but then again, there’s no free lunch.
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