POMPEII
Unlike most archaeological digs that uncover pits where people threw their trash or buried their dead, Pompeii offers a unique look into the past when time froze. The ash buried a living breathing town.
Instead of uncovering ruins, archaeologists uncovered treasures and a glimpse of life on that fateful day.
Wherever people were on that busy day, going about their business, possibly running and screaming from the eruption that was cascading over them, filling their eyes, nose, ears and mouths with ash, suffocating them…that is where the archaeologists found them, fallen to the ground as they succumbed to the ash.
At most archaeological sites the archaeologist pieces together remnants of broken pieces.
This window to the past allows them to brush away dust to find life as it was, practically preserved.
Whole skeletons. Pregnant women. Couples in each other’s arms.
Art works are being uncovered, like mosaics and frescoes.
BOURBON KINGS OF FRANCE KEPT POMPEII A SECRET
Enter France. Long before Italy became unified the Bourbon kings of France laid claim to the land as early as the 18th century, keeping its treasures a secret allowing no one to visit, study or make renderings of the site.
CODE NAPOLEON
After Napoleon came to power freedoms abounded.
Napoleon was all about bringing freedom to the lands he conquered, because the people of the lands were usually serfs, tied in to the age-old system of feudalism.
He chose his family members to help rule the many lands, trusting they would be like-minded in allowing freedom to the peoples.
NAPOLEON’S SISTER CAROLINE, QUEEN CONSORT OF NAPLES
His sister, Caroline, married one of his generals and together they ruled parts of Italy, including the land upon which Pompeii was secretly buried.
Thus Caroline, as an avid admirer of art, unlocked the secret door of Pompeii and shared it with the people of the world.
She became patron to the artist Francois Mazois who documented the excavations from 1809 to 1826 in a four-volume series called Les Ruines de Pompei.
Caroline also wanted to create something brand new to help introduce the world to the ruins of Pompeii.
She calls them “guide books.” Think they’ll succeed? 😉
