"Pompeii lives!" says the sign proudly, and the curators answer in chorus Si, Pompeii Viva! Venite!  Each day, thousands of locals and tourists accept their invitation and throng to see what everyday life was like when Rome ruled the world.

On August 24th, 79 AD (in the traditional calendar), Mount Vesuvius erupted and over the course of two days, killed or drove away the approximately 20,000 inhabitants of Pompeii, while covering the city in about 70 feet of volcanic ash.  Since then, miscellaneous excavations happened in the 1500s and 1600s, but the serious examination of the site didn't start until 1763.  It has been the subject of archaeological work ever since.

Its sister city, Herculaneum, was rediscovered about the same time.

Whenever it rained in Pompeii, the water was channelled into central depressions running the length of the streets.  Crossing the street was made easier by stepping stones, but what of the chariots that also plied these streets?  The slots between stepping stones are exactly placed to accomodate a standard Roman chariot.  The oval shape of the stones guided the wheels cleanly through the slots.

This statue of a satyr was in the courtyard of a house.  Little remains of the house, but the bronze decoration survived.

A close-up.

Can you guess what this is?  It isn't what you probably thought of when you first saw it.  It's a cafeteria.  Bowls of food would be positioned over the holes with a fire in the box underneath to keep the food hot.  I wonder what would have been on the menu?

Pompeii was a seaport, so there would have been sailors from all over stopping in, having shore leave, and looking for places to spend their money.  In most seaports, there would have been brothels operating, but how do you communicate with a sailor who doesn't speak Latin?  Pictorial menus!  Point to what you have in mind and hold out a handful of coins.  Problem solved.

Like all Roman cities, Pompeii had a theater.  This one is similar in size to the one we saw in Cartagena, Spain.  Because it was buried in a protective layer of fine dust for a millenium and a half, it is exceptionally well-preserved.  In fact, it looks almost new.

Norene was here.  So was Frank.  And we'll be back.  Four hours is simply not enough time to see all there is to see in this museum city.