Pompeii is one of the most significant proofs of Roman
civilization and, like an open book, provides outstanding information on the
art, customs, trades and everyday life of the past.
The city has re-emerged from the darkness of centuries
precisely as it would have been when it was unexpectedly buried in the thick
layer of ash and lava which poured down from the devastating eruption of
Vesuvius. It was the year 79 A.D. The scale of the tragedy was appalling: in
what had been one of the most active and splendid Roman centres, life came to a
permanent standstill.The thick layer of volcanic material which submerged it, made up to a large extent of ash and lapilli - non-hard material, unlike that which covered Herculaneum and which solidified into extremely hard stone -has meant that the city has remained intact until the present day, not only as far as its buildings are concerned, but also as regards the contents inside the houses and shops, providing an absolutely fascinating picture of "daily" life.
The walls of the houses are covered with electoral
propaganda messages or risque jokes aimed at particular citizens. The signs on
the shop doorways indicate the activity carried out there or the name of the
owner. Alongside the elegant villas belonging to the nobility and the luxurious
residences of the middle class, stand modest houses where several families
lived.
The peasant dwellings on the other hand are situated around
vegetable gardens or small plots of land. On the edge of the city stood the
brothels, squalid rooms intended as places of pleasure for sailors and
travellers passing through, in the narrow lanes, the workshops and utility
rooms provide further evidence of the daily routine performed by workmen and
slaves as well as the women of the house. The houses still contain furniture,
ornaments, gold and silverware, work tools, kitchenware, bronze and terracotta
lamps, foodstuffs of all kinds, counters for serving drinks, grain mills and
grindstones, workshops for manufacturing cloth, smithies and outlets selling
groceries, fruit and vegetables.
There is a remarkable record of Roman painting, of which,
without the finds made in Pompeii, virtually nothing would be known.
The architecture and development of the various types of
houses is also amply documented.
Thus the excavated city provides outstanding historical
evidence of Roman civilization: these reminders of the past, which are so vivid
and tangible in the remains brought to light, contribute to the fascination of
the present.
pompeionline.net
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