Pompeii; It is a large Roman city located at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, called “The Wrath of the Gods”, in the Italian region of Campania. After the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD people of Pompeii and the city; lava, remained under the ashes. The Roman Empire ruled in the city of Pompeii. The belief that the people of Pompeii were destroyed by God as a result of their perverted behavior is widespread.
About 2000 people died on the day of the disaster, and after that day, the city was covered with lava. It remained uninhabited until it was accidentally rediscovered in 1748 by the Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre. After the discovery, the petrified bodies were unearthed, some of them are exhibited in the ancient city of Pompeii, some in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples in Italy, and some in the Pompei Antiquarium museum.
The gas cloud and ashes gushing from the volcano covered the people, and the people, who did not know where to escape, died in death throes. As can be seen from the plastered bodies unearthed, their facial expressions and the bent shapes of their bodies show that they are in pain and bewilderment. Their situations in daily life and their last moments of desperation of that day have reached the present day, almost frozen in time.
The teeth of the bodies found protruded from their lips. The lava reaching 300 degrees scorched the surface of the bodies, leaving them soft inside. At the gruesome moment of death, their jaws protruded from their skulls and their bones were exposed. Among the corpses are a woman with a baby in her arms, a man and another 1.2-year-old child. There are many bodies showing daily life similar to this one.
Archaeologists have uncovered the city almost untouched during excavations. Slices of bread still in the oven were found frozen as were the last moments of the bodies of men, women, children and animals and their fearful facial expressions. Excavations provide an opportunity to fully understand what kind of life the people of Pompeii lived, what they did, what kind of houses they lived in, and their lifestyles.
In the museum, the originals of the bodies that were solidified by the heat were not found in the exhibition, instead, plasters placed exactly where the bodies were found are shown. Archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli, who carried out a systematic study, found most of the bodies in 1863. It has been found in human bodies as well as animals such as dogs and pigs.
Another museum; Built between 1873 and 1874 by Giuseppe Fiorelli is the Pompeii Antiquarium museum. The museum has been a place where finds from Pompeii, which represent the daily life of the ancient city, as well as the victims of the explosion are exhibited. Large maps have been added to the museum showing the current development of excavations since 1748.
The museum was bombed and badly damaged during the Second World War in 1943. Thanks to the renovation works, it was reopened on 13 June 1948 as part of the anniversary celebrations of the Pompeii excavations. After being damaged by the 1980 earthquake, it was closed again, and in 2016, after a break of thirty-six years, it was reopened with an interactive exhibition called Sacred Pompeiana. There is also a bookstore in the museum where artifacts related to the city are sold. 100 of the human corpses turned into stone from the lava were reshaped by the technique of the great archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorell. With this technique, the corpses turned into limestone were strengthened with liquid gypsum glue.
