Cur Pompeii?
- DrJCal2015
- Feb 8, 2024
- 2 min read
So, this week a personal message. If you follow me on social media, you will note that I am rather obsessed with the Roman world, specifically on the Vesuvian buried cities, and most of all Pompeii. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t share something about the city and the excavations there. But why? Or, as the Romans would ask, Cur?
This one goes back to my childhood, and falls in the “Things from my father” category. My Grandfather, Omer, was stationed in Naples back in the late 50s, early 60s, and so my Grandmother and Dad had a LOT of time on their hands, and used it well. 20 years later, its the late 70s and a 6 year old is spending a LOT of time looking at old black and white postcards of the site as well as playing with stolen lava bombs that Grandma had brought back.
Then, in the early 80s, the boat sheds at Herculaneum were discovered. That’s where all the skeletons were found. It made the cover of National Geographic. And I collected every bit of journalism which covered anything about the subject.
For me, Pompeii was a childhood fascination… of course the human element was fascinating, maybe particularly for a Cold War kid who knew that death could be sudden, and horrifying. But more than that, for me, Pompeii is special because of how alive it seems, rather than how dead. In the best preserved, or in some cases rebuilt houses, you really can hit the “I believe” button and be back there with them.
As my friends know, I am much more of a military historian, but the material culture of Pompeii is, for me, mesmerizing. Which is why I wanted to write this. In the last years, from just before the pandemic to now, major new finds are made in Pompeii and its surrounds seemingly every week. Very likely the entire plain between Vesuvius and Pompeii, and to its south, is an archaeologists dream. We’ve seen wagons, slave quarters, animals, and now, inside Pompeii, new buildings and treasures, just in recent weeks. More to follow on all of these subjects. My advice to all: Go. I finally got the Naples in fall 2019, and have been back 3 times since. You’ll never see it all. Keep going anyway. And hopefully, when you do, you’ll discover “why” for yourself.
Two great websites to keep handy. One is the site of the park itself: Homepage - Pompeii Sites Portale Ufficiale Parco Archeologico di Pompei
The second, a catalog of photos from all over the region:
Comentarios