| Amid the hardened ash and pumice of a | | | | have been protected for 2,000 years in a heavy |
| two-thousand year old disaster lies a city so perfectly | | | | blanket of ash and serve as witnesses to everyday |
| preserved, it sparks the imagination of even the most | | | | life. The most shocking is the presence of Vesuvius' |
| indifferent visitor. Pompeii has become more of a living | | | | victims. As the digging began, empty cavities were |
| museum than an excavation site since its discovery in | | | | found among the layers of volcanic debris. |
| the 1700s. Millions flock to the ancient Italian city to | | | | Archeologists soon realized that each void was |
| explore this pristine time capsule that has taken over | | | | actually where a body had long since decomposed. |
| 250 years to be slowly and delicately uncovered. | | | | Plaster was poured into the empty spaces to create |
| It takes at least one full day to be able to truly take in | | | | molds of the bodies, which are chillingly detailed - their |
| all of Pompeii's many intricate discoveries. Walk the | | | | writhing agony during a suffocating death, the terror on |
| stone streets where only the wind and birds now | | | | their faces, even the way their hair was styled that |
| reside, wondering how much more of the town's | | | | day are frozen forever in the casts. Some were |
| secrets await resurrection. Take in the magnificent | | | | found fleeing for their lives while others were found |
| beauty of elaborate mosaics and colorful frescoes | | | | curled up on floors and beds with their hands covering |
| that have weathered such utter circumstances. Marvel | | | | their faces. One cast depicts a thief with his hand in |
| at the citizens' names that will live on forever in the | | | | the purse of a wealthy man who is seemingly |
| clinging paint on their homes. Imagine the marble | | | | unaware of the looting while trying to escape the |
| splendor of the mighty Temple of Apollo and the other | | | | catastrophe. Another cast portrays a frightened dog |
| religious icons of the day. Ponder what it would have | | | | fruitlessly fighting against the chain that held him |
| been like to live in this flourishing city that was at its | | | | captive. Each plaster mold projects such an intense |
| zenith when Vesuvius began to grumble its ominous | | | | emotion that visitors are sometimes moved to tears at |
| warning. | | | | the profound loss of life that Pompeii exhibits. |
| The excavation of Pompeii has been nothing short of | | | | Despite its constant reminder of death and destruction, |
| astonishing. Such care has been taken since the | | | | Pompeii proves that life continues to overcome |
| beginning of its unearthing that we are able to see a | | | | obstacles as the vines and blossoms thrive among the |
| clear snapshot of the city on its last fateful day in AD | | | | silent ruins. A sleeping Vesuvius remains as a visual |
| 79. Simple terra cotta containers for oil and wine, giant | | | | remembrance that life is precious and the unexpected |
| millstones, iron farm tools, and decorative columns | | | | could happen at any moment. |