Day 13 - Naples, Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius

Pompei was interesting, a lot bigger than I had pictured it...7 square miles big.  Because we were on a shore excursion, we were sharing with many thousands of people from more than one ship, plus many more thousands of Italians celebrating their Independence Day and we didn't have a lot of time. There is much to see. Some original plaster decorations remain, as well as some marble flooring, painted walls, etc.

The theatres were interesting to visit. There are three of them sitting, respectively, 1500, 5000 and 20000 people.

Due to the short time we had, we weren't able to visit the extra exhibits... Maybe that is why we only saw one of the plaster casts of the former residents overcome by the gas.  They were covered by ash, the ash hardened and the body decayed leaving behind their skeletons in an empty cavity.  Archeologists found the cavities by finding hollow-sounding areas in the ash.  The system devised was to drill a small hole, funnel plaster in and let it harden; then remove the outer layer of hardened ash revealing a cast of the body that once had been there. Most are found laying face down with their hands covering their mouth and nose.Read more