GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
By Brett Marlin
Modern inventions among the ruins of Pompeii
Pompeii is a true marvel. Neither my wife, Tanya, nor I could believe what we
saw or heard about how Pompei was designed, built or managed. We have
this idea that we are so advanced, but when you see what was happening
in the 6th century BC to 75AD, you realise that so many things that we have
today were also used all that time ago. Unfortunately, when the barbarians
conquered the region around Italy in the 5 th century, so many of the inventions,
construction techniques and every day conveniences were lost and only
discovered again many years later.
Pompeii, along with many villas in the surrounding area, was destroyed
and buried under 4m to 6m of volcanic ash stone in the eruption
of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD at which time its population was esti mated
at 11 000. The city was lost for about 1 500 years until its initial
rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later by
a Spanish engineer in 1748.
The objects that lay beneath the city have been preserved for more than
1 600 years because of the long lack of air and moisture. These artefacts
provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during this
period. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the
ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed archaeologists to
see the exact position the person was in when he or she died.
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The roofs of most of the buildings in the city collapsed under the weight
of the ash and stone, but the walls remained intact. Unfortunately, after
the buildings were unearthed, locals pillaged the city and took most of
the marble that clad the exterior walls of the buildings.
During the Second World War the Germans had occupation of the city
and when they retreated after the American landing/invasion, they did
irreparable damage by bombing the area.
The only saving grace is that there is still 25% of the city uncovered
due to the cost of exposing it and the upkeep of the buildings. This
will at least ensure that once exposed, it will be looked after properly
and will be available for future generations as the current city, quite
understandably, is decaying with age.
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