You might think a site that has been excavated since the 18th century has little left to surprise us with. But Pompeii is the gift that just keeps on giving. Partly because – despite how long we have been working on it – there is still so much to uncover: one-third of the ancient city is still yet to be cleared of the thick ash layer that was laid over it by Vesuvius in 79CE.
We are in the middle of extraordinary new discoveries from Pompeii because of the big effort that has been put in over the last few years to excavate different parts of this un-investigated area.
As a result, we have seen a spectrum of amazing finds being unearthed that speak to the wide variety of lifestyles, work, wealth and fashions that criss-crossed the Roman town, which was famous in antiquity as a summer bolthole by the sea for wealthy Romans.
From industrial-sized bread ovens, to serpent shrine frescoes and the enigmatic decorative image of what many initially thought was a pizza (spoiler: it wasn’t!); to the physical skeletal remains of women and children hiding under their staircase from the eruption, as well as a man who seems to have survived the initial volcanic blast but then got pinned down beneath a falling piece of masonry; to the endless graffiti (one charcoal inscription shifted our understanding of when the eruption took place), we are getting, more than ever before, a sense of Pompeii as a living city – warts and all.
I have visited, studied and filmed at Pompeii many times. It is a bewitching place where you can all too easily forget you are in an ancient city destroyed by a volcanic eruption, as you walk down paved streets with buildings towering above you.
Esta historia es de la edición April 12, 2024 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 12, 2024 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Shots of immense power in Elton's expansive collection
Fragile Beauty is home to stunning prints gathered by the singer and his husband, exploring subjects including fashion, desire and reportage from war zones
LIFE LESSONS
In ‘Better Off Dead?’, Liz Carr reveals how legalising assisted suicide could endanger disabled people
Water, water everywhere...
The addition of 27 new wild swimming areas should be great news – but if there’s no promise they won’t be as gross as our sewage-filled seas, Helen Coffey sees little cause to celebrate
LORDS OF THE RING
With Fury vs Usyk set to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion, Alex Pattle speaks to Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren and other top promoters about the art of matchmaking
Fernandes linked to Bayern and Varane to leave United
Bayern Munich are looking at a move for Bruno Fernandes this summer and believe they can get him due to increasing frustration at Manchester United.
City favourites for title as Haaland brace secures win
A formality in the strangest of settings. In the seconds after Erling Haaland scored the goal that won this match and probably the Premier League title, you could feel the tension just evaporate.
Unemployment figures take shine off exit from recession
After all the excited chatter about Britain’s recovery from shallow recession, we’re back to earth with a bump.
'The situation is worse than dire, it's a very grim picture'
Hit by devastating floods and left with no support from the Taliban, Afghans are being forced to survive on potato peel while battling unimaginable conditions.
Strikes on aid locations in Gaza 'killed or hurt dozens'
Research by The Independent on impact of Israeli airstrikes is backed by a Human Rights Watch report
Speaker backs Trump at 'sham' hush-money trial
House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson lambasted the United States judicial system yesterday as he became the highest-ranking Republican to attend court with Donald Trump, echoing unsubstantiated or disproven arguments made by the former president and his allies.