On to Pompeii-
Our visit to Pompeii was a huge surprise. We perhaps would not have even put this on our itinerary, but went along for the ride, since Grand European Tours did most the planning for this tour. Thank goodness. Pompeii was one of the most stunning stops on our trip.
Mt Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 AD, between 1:00 and 1:30 PM. Titus, the 8th Emperor, sent troops to Pompeii after the eruption, but there was not much they could do. A town of 20,000 souls had been buried in 20 feet of ash. The site disappeared from memory until the 18th century when Italian kings decided to begin taking treasures discovered in this ancient city for personal recycling. One-third of the ancient city is still buried. Yet much has been uncovered. The result is a unique snapshot of ancient Roman life. Only 1100 bodies were recovered. Half a dozen of those were captured in the act of dying a sudden and horrible death by suffocation. They were preserved by pouring plaster into the hollow mold formed when the bodies, encased in ash, decayed. We saw five such plaster corpses, their faces twisted in the agony of suffocation. One corpse is the famous dog.
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