Pompeii

After our ride along the Almafi Coast, we took the train to Pompei to see the ruins of Pompeii. Pompeii was a Roman city which was destroyed and covered by ash from the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D. The city was covered in about 13-20 feet of ash. It was rediscovered in 1599, when the excavations began. There are still excavations going on to this day.

These columns were in front of the Building of Eumachia. The columns were rebuilt from the pieces found laying on the ground in the ash.

The Temple of Vaspian. That is the temple altar in the middle.

During the excavations, they found intact remains of humans and animals. Gavin was a little creeped out by the bodies and refused to get close. You can see the skull where the ash has been cleared off.

It is believed that these pots were used in trading.

There were a lot of frescoes that were found and are well preserved.

A street with houses on either side.

It rained for a few minutes while we were there.

The Basilica

The Amphitheater.

The Amphitheater seats.

Mt. Vesuvius and the vineyard.

The statue of Apollo in the Temple of Apollo.
The Temple of Apollo.

I'm glad we got to visit Pompeii. It was so interesting to wander around the maze of ruins and to see Roman life centuries ago. Gavin pointed out that this time period was close to the time of Christ. It was crazy to think that we were walking along streets that were that old. I really wish we had time to go to the top of Mt. Vesuvius. Maybe next time. :)