In Pompeii we visited many excavated sites. This is the home of a very wealthy person. They know this because it was HUGE and every inch was decorated with frescoes or mosaics (check out the floor below - those are tiny tiles)! There were servants quarters, a courtyard in the middle of the home, and stables out back.
This is the main door to the home. It was left in the exact position that the owners left it in when they evacuated. The owners who evacuated left their doors open, while those who stayed to weather out the eruption had their doors closed. The doors were made of wood, which deteriorated in the ash over time. While excavating they poured plaster into the crevices to make molds of things that had decayed (such as this door).
Archaeologists knew that they would find bodies in homes whose doors were closed.
Interior of same home
Dining room of same home
When a wealthy Pompeian hosted a dinner party the guests were expected to arrive at 6pm and stay until 10am. They were all lead into the dining room and shown to a mattress. Eating while laying on a mattress was exceptionally luxurious. In order to show their wealth, the hosts continually fed the guests the ENTIRE time. It was considered rude to refuse any food or wine/beer, so guests were obligated to
eat without pause for 16 hours!
Vomitorium
Every couple of hours the guests would excuse themselves from the dining room to use the
VOMITORIUM. Seriously. They would go puke, rinse with a wine/honey mixture, and then return the dining room to keep eating. Woah.
This is the main door to the home. It was left in the exact position that the owners left it in when they evacuated. The owners who evacuated left their doors open, while those who stayed to weather out the eruption had their doors closed. The doors were made of wood, which deteriorated in the ash over time. While excavating they poured plaster into the crevices to make molds of things that had decayed (such as this door). Archaeologists knew that they would find bodies in homes whose doors were closed.
Interior of same home
Dining room of same home
Vomitorium
Streets of Pompeii
I always wondered why 7,000 people evacuated and 3,000 stayed behind during the eruption. Thanks to our trusty tour guide, now I know! The people who stayed behind thought that they would be safe in their basements (for the most part). The doors to their homes were shut and most of the bodies found were in the basements. What they didn't realize was that sulfur fumes would seep in through the ventilation in their basements. The fumes killed the people and then ash poured in and preserved where their bodies were. The bodies decayed, but the bones remained. Archaeologists poured plaster into the cavities and ended up with what you see above (this is why you can see bone in some pictures).
We had about 50 people at the party on Saturday. The theme was "Peace. Love. Raymond." HAHAH. 1960's for the 60 year old.
You can't fake that face!
Even mom was shocked! We knew to keep the cat in the bag with her too if we wanted it to be a real surprise!
