Pompeii, buried city

The city was founded around 600 BC by the plateau formed and later conquered by the Samnites. Under the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who was 80 BC Roman colony and later became a favorite haunt for wealthy Romans.

At that time there were about 20 000. Pompeii was an important commercial city and port of export of Nola and other inland towns and cities. During an earthquake in AD 63 the city was badly damaged, and buried as an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 cities such as Herculaneum and Stabia. The deposition of volcanic material led to the expansion of the mainland into the sea, so the city now lies at a considerable distance from the sea.

First excavations began in 1748, when the German archaeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann was involved. In 1912, a road that connects the Strada dell'Abbondanza the amphitheater, located several houses with balconies. This district is known as the Nuovi Scavi (New excavations). Some of the ruins were in the second to the bombings become a world war had severely damaged and restored. Also continuously carried out further excavations in the quarter did not expose the city's past, which is much below the land masses in previous excavations.

One of the surprising aspects of the exhibition of the city was the state of well-preserved ancient remains. Volcanic ash from the eruption of Vesuvius form a protective shield of the city, and led to the preservation of many public buildings, temples, theaters, baths, shops and private homes. We also found the remains of some 2,000 victims of the disaster on the ruins of Pompeii, including several gladiators who had chained to prevent escape or suicide. Some elements of the old city are exhibited in the museum that was built in Pompeii, near the Porta Marina, one of the eight gates of the city. Most residents fled before the eruption of Vesuvius and took their personal belongings as much as possible. After the outbreak was over, dug tunnels around houses and public buildings and took almost everything of value, including marble slabs of houses.

For this reason, only a few objects of value were found at Pompeii. Most discoveries in motion and some wall paintings and floor mosaics were transferred to the National Museum of Naples. In general, buildings and objects in a realistic and comprehensive picture of life in a provincial Italian city of the first century AD The buildings form a transition between the Greek style, the architectural style of the Roman Empire