Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. We’re going to start today in Pompeii.
On August 24, 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy erupted. By the end of the day, the Roman port city of Pompeii was covered by 20 feet of ash and rock. The flows of hot ashes, volcanic gases, and debris destroyed the city and its residents in a matter of minutes. While the city had a population of about 10-12,000 people, most escaped at the first signs of volcanic activity. Archaeologists have discovered about 1,150 bodies. Victims’ bodies made hollows in the ash.
In 1863, Giuseppe Fiorelli, director of the excavations at Pompeii, began pouring liquid plaster in some of the holes that were being found during excavation. Nancy Ramage and Andrew Ramage, in their book The British Museum Concise Introduction to Ancient Rome, report:
“The plaster filled the voids made by the bodies that had long since disintegrated, but their shape had been preserved in the now stone-hard ash. Then when the ask was removed and the plaster itself was excavated, it revealed the dead and dying bodies in three-dimensional form.”
In their book The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Archaeology, Christopher Catling and Paul Bahn report:
“The casts show men, women and children at the exact moment that tragedy struck. One man was buried so quickly that he died before he had a chance to lie down. A family carrying their gold jewellery and prized possessions were found in the cellar of the Villa of Diomedes, located outside the walls of the city.”
The Oregon Museum of Science and Technology (OMSI) in Portland in cooperation with the Naples National Archaeological Museum had a special exhibit on Pompeii which included body casts of people who died in the volcanic eruption.
According to the Museum display:
“This mother and child was found in the House of the Golden Bracelet alongside the father and older sibling. The family sought refuge under the stairs on the lower level of the home. The family was incredibly wealthy, as the woman was found wearing numerous gold bracelets and a snake headed armlet, which suggests that this family was the owner of the home. Both the mother and child are frozen in a boxer-like pose, which was caused by the extreme heat.”
According to the Museum display:
“This young boy was found lying on his side in the garden of the Hour of the Cryptoporticus along with other members of the family. Traces of his sandals with iron studs in the sole were revealed once a mold of his body form was made.”
Open Thread
This is an open thread—all topics are welcome.