Pompeii

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city, covered with ash along with the towns of Herculanum and Stabia at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79. Today it is an open-air museum and is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Pompeii was founded around the 7th century BC, and the name of the city gave the word pumpe ( five ), since the city arose due to the merger of 5 villages. According to another version, the name of the city means "triumphal procession" ( pompe ), since according to legend Herakl, having killed the giant Gerion, majestically walked along the main street of the city.

The city of Pompeii was full of historical events. Here there were fights between the Greeks and Etruscans, the Greeks and Samnits, Samnits and the Romans, there was a rebellion against the Romans. In 59 AD due to a quarrel during the battles of the gladiators, a massacre broke out between the inhabitants of Nutzeria and Pompey. The Pompeii won, and there were many dead and wounded in the ranks of the Nutzerians. Due to these events, the Senate banned the prohibition of 10 years of conducting gladiatorial fights, but in 62 it lifted the ban.

On February 5, 62, a very powerful earthquake occurred, which damaged virtually all of the facilities in Pompeii. This was only an echo of the impending tragedy. On August 24, 79, Vesuvius showed all his power, completely falling asleep with volcanic ash of 3 cities: Stabia, Herculanum, Pompeii, as well as several settlements. The eruption was so powerful that the ashes flew to Syria and Egypt. Most of the inhabitants were able to leave the city, but more than two thousand people remained buried under a multi-meter layer of ash, many more remains were discovered outside the city.

In 1592, during the construction of the canal, they found the city wall of Pompeii. In 1689, the ruins of the building on which the "Pompeii" was written were unearthed, but then they considered that it was Pompey the Great's villa. The thorough excavations began only in 1748. During excavations, it turned out that all the streets, buildings were perfectly preserved under a thick ash. On the site of the remains of animals and people, the ashes were petrified, and the bay inside the gypsum could restore the postures of the dead. Since 1961, they began to carry out restoration work. The volume of work is so huge that not the whole city has dug up for several centuries, about 25% of the territory of Pompey remains unexplored.