A tour of Pompeii wouldn't be complete without the plaster moulds.
The reason Pompeii is so incredibly well-preserved is that it was buried under layers of mud and volcanic ash when the Mount Vesuvius erupted in October 79 AD.
The disaster claimed 2,000 lives - 10% of the city's population.
When an earthquake struck on that fateful day of 79 AD, many Pompeiians didn't pay attention.
Indeed, Pompeii was 7 km away from Vesuvius, and there were frequent tremors, so many just ignored it.
But then the volcano erupted, and a column of ash shot 33 km into the sky—its power equivalent to 100,000 nuclear bombs.
A dense wave of volcanic matter and gas flowed down the mountain.
Small rocks (pumice) poured over the city.
The majority of Pompeiians fled, but those who remained died as the wave of hot ash approached, their organs pulverized by heat that reached up to 300 degrees Celsius.
They were then covered in mud and ash.
The eruption killed 2,000 people, around 10% of the city's population.
Pliny the Younger was 17 years old and living across the bay when he witnessed the eruption.
"A very tall trunk, which spread itself out at the top into a sort of branches... buildings shaking with violent shocks... the danger of falling pumice stones... broad sheets of flame lighting up many parts of Vesuvius... they were still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night".
His uncle, a famous Roman admiral, sailed over to help evacuate the city. However he never made it back.
The city of Pompeii was buried for over 1,600 years.
When it was finally excavated, archeologists realised that some gaps in the ash had been left by the imprint of human bodies.
So they injected plaster into these gaps - creating the plaster casts we can see today.
Among the most famous are :
- a dog at the Olitorium market
- a bather in the Stabian Baths
- 9 people sheltering in the Garden of the Fugitives
Mount Vesuvius has erupted many times since, and it is expected to erupt again soon.
Today, 3 million people live in the area, making it one of the most densely populated volcanic regions in the world.
That concludes our tour of Pompeii! We hope you enjoyed it!
Please share it with art lovers who might be interested.
For your next adventure, why not explore the Palace of Versailles?
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