| The story of Pompeii has always | | | | discoverers to rebury the area. |
| fascinated travelers, which is why it is | | | | In the 1860's, an excavator named |
| a popular destination. While the city | | | | Giuseppe Fiorelli found that there were |
| represented classic Roman life, the | | | | pockets in the ash he was digging |
| destruction of it has always been the | | | | through and that these represented |
| fascinating element. | | | | places where people had died. He came up |
| A Guide to the Significance of Pompeii | | | | with the technique of injecting plaster |
| for Travelers | | | | into these holes (left by the |
| At the time, Italy was a place full of | | | | decomposition of the human bodies) and |
| ingenuity and historical significance. | | | | was able to find out much more about how |
| Rome was considered the most important | | | | the Pompeiians lived and died. As the |
| city in existence and the Roman Empire | | | | eruption left many of the residents of |
| had expanded to conquer much of Europe, | | | | the town unable to escape, much of their |
| bringing both Roman and Italian | | | | life was left intact. Some died while in |
| influences to the rest of the world. One | | | | the process of everyday activities. |
| of the most interesting stories of this | | | | The houses found preserved a complete |
| time was the calamity that took place in | | | | picture of 1st Century AD life. The bath |
| Pompeii, the site of one of the biggest | | | | houses, private houses, and streets, |
| and most destructive volcanic eruptions | | | | covered quickly with the ash from Mount |
| in history. | | | | Vesuvius, were left exactly as they |
| Pompeii was destroyed in the eruption of | | | | looked when used during this era. Art on |
| Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 AD. When | | | | the walls of homes and in the streets |
| the volcano exploded, the entire city | | | | were preserved, allowing future |
| was covered in layers of ash and other | | | | generations to see the tastes and true |
| volcanic matter. It was not rediscovered | | | | ways of life that early Italians had. |
| for 1,600 years. In 1599, there was an | | | | Graffiti was even found, allowing |
| accidental discovery by the architect | | | | historians to see just what real street |
| Fontana who was trying to dig a new | | | | Latin looked like. Pompeii was preserved |
| course for the Samo River. Although the | | | | in the height of its popularity and |
| city was found at this time, a serious | | | | wealth, and its riches were evident from |
| attempt to dig up the remains of the | | | | what archaeologists found there. |
| area was not attempted until the year | | | | Today, a visit to Pompeii is a step into |
| 1748. Later, archaeologists theorized | | | | the past. When you walk the remains, you |
| that some of Pompeii may have been dug | | | | are literally walking in the city as it |
| up in 1599, but when erotic frescoes | | | | was nearly 2,000 years ago. |
| were discovered, the nudity caused early | | | | |