"Knowing Pompeii means opening a fascinating window to the ancient world. Streets paved with enormous stones, the monumental forum, intricately designed houses, shops and workshops, astonishing paintings and mosaics narrate the innumerable facets of a city captured in its very last moments of life and delivered to eternity by the terrible eruption of Mount Vesuvius." (Taken from a book published by White Star Publishers with the collaboration of the archaeological superintendency of Pompeii and the superintendency for archaeological heritage of Naples and Caserta.)
Today I went to Mobile, AL with Dave, Anita and the children to the Exploreum to visit an exhibit on Pompeii. I was very impressed by what I saw and read. Mount Vesuvius erupted at 1:00PM on August 24 79AD and buried the city of Pompeii. The discovery of Pompeii began in 1746. I bought a huge, heavy book that is very detailed about Pompeii and the Roman civilization. In the exhibit I saw pottery, pieces of furniture, stone ovens, surgical instruments that were remarkably similar to what our physicians use, bronze fish hooks, simple pieces of jewelry, coins, sculpture, Bacchus, the God of Wine, drew my attention. While looking at this handsome piece of art I thought if I had this, where would I put this nude man. It certainly wouldn't fit into my tame decor. When the volcano erupted the city and surrounding territory was buried in ash. An excavation uncovered bodies. Not skeletons but imprints of people and animals lying in various positions. After so many years the ash had hardened. A mold was placed around the imprints and a cast made. Some of these were at the exhibit. It saddened me as, no matter what century they lived in, they weren't any different than you and I. They had families, pets and ate basically the same food as we do. Then on that fateful day so long ago, their lives ended. That's something to think about. I am sure Anita and I will study the above book and find out so many more interesting things. After the exhibit, we went to an IMAX movie on Greece which was also very interesting.
Mobile was getting ready for their Mardi Gras parades. I wish we could have stayed to see at least one. I took a couple of pictures through a window while I was waiting in the Exploreum. There is an object in the sky that looks like a UFO.
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LOL Goat I didn't see it and take the picture, I saw it in the pic later. It was taken from an upstairs window in the Exploreum. Anita said she thinks somehow it transferred an interior light that was reflected in the window. I agree we could have fun with the UFO people. Why not be my guest and send it to them. It is very pretty sitting in the blue sky. I once remarked that I would catch crime being committed but instead I got a UFO. LOL
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