Pompeii

The other day we went to visit the ancient ruins of the city of Pompeii, Italy. The city of Pompeii is located just outside Naples, where we have been staying for a few days.

The city of Pompeii was absolutely fascinating, mainly because it has been preserved so well. The city was completely covered under a layer of molten ash and rock in 79 AD by a neighboring Volcano Mt. Vesuvius. To give a proper perspective, Mt. Vesuvius was about 9,000 feet tall when the volcano exploded. After the explosion the volcano was reduced to a height of 3,600 thousand feet. Over two thirds of the mountain’s molten ash, mud, and rock were dispelled onto the neighboring regions. The local people had no idea that the volcano was active, and all of Pompeii’s inhabitants were killed instantly.

The most interesting thing about Pompeii is that is a city that is locked in time. You can imagine a city, full of life and activity, suddenly buried under 25 feet of ash. After the city was excavated in the 1500’s, it was as if it had been left on that same day in 79 AD.

Now the city is totally excavated, and provides an amazing snapshot into the lives of ancient Italians.

This is a picture of one of the guys in our group, Dustin Brewer, singing in the main amphitheater of the city.

The city itself was amazing. The ruins of the city date back into the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries BC, and are probably some of the oldest things that we will see while we are on this trip.

This next picture is my favorite. It is taken from the cities Forum, which would have been the heart of the city. At the far end is the ruins of the temple of Jupiter, and you can just barely make out Mt. Vesuvius in the background, hiding under the clouds. You can imagine how immense the volcano would have been in its full shape.