The walls and streets of Pompeii are amazingly well preserved.
The magic of Pompeii is in how well it has been preserved. There are fewer ruins among the ruins. I know that sounds strange. But most ruins require considerable imagination to reconstruct the original site. This isn’t true of Pompeii. Many of the streets, walls and buildings are found in close to the same condition they would have been found in 79 AD before being covered by the eruption of Vesuvius. The preservation of bodies, as shown in my first blog on Pompeii, is even more impressive. Thousands of storage and cooking vessels have also been found along with paintings, mosaics and sculptures giving us a detailed look into early Roman life. While much of what has been found in Pompeii can still be found there, much has also made it into museums around the world.
Today I am going to conclude my visit to Pompeii with a stop at the Basilica, the city’s center of government, and the market area, which has become a temporary repository of storage containers, bodies and other items found in Pompeii. (I will also slip in a few more of my favorite photos Peggy and I took but didn’t find a home on my other blogs.)
Thousands of artifacts have been found in Pompeii. Many, like these storage vessels, have found a temporary home in the area that once was the city’s market area. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)
The Basilica in Pompeii was the center of government. It is centrally located next to the market and Jupiter’s Temple.
This combination of ancient and modern in one of the fountains found along the street was amusing. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)
Since I use so many of Peggy’s pictures, occasionally I like to throw in a photo of her taking photos. This was along one of Pompeii’s walls.
I found the detail in this Pompeii wall decoration impressive. It had a plastic cover to protect and preserve it.
I’ll close with this shot of Pompeii ruins looking more like ruins. (grin)
NEXT BLOG: We visit the excellent Archeological Museum of Naples.
Wandering through Time and Place 
I see Peggy uses a Canon… Good girl! LOL
Since elementary school, I have always been fascinated by the story of Pompeii. Perhaps as early as 1964, I was in the public library when I stumbled across Pompeii, There was a photo of a person’s body, made from a cast. How horrible it must have been. But now, we know it was quite a party town, so to speak…but the state of preservation is nothing short of amazing as shown by your wonderful photos (“your” meant to include your charming wife).
Thanks Koji. I found the body casts amazing. Some looked almost peaceful, while others showed the horror of suffocation.
As much as I was prepared to be fascinated by Pompeii, it was still overwhelming! I had to walk it and take it all in before even lifting the camera……I appreciated that we did not have to deal with huge crowds….giving one a sense of solitude in some places.
The detail in their buildings, their art, continues to amaze. Definitely a place I need to visit!!
Nothing quite like it… At least that I have see. Well, maybe Chichen Itza…
Yes, tell Peggy Canon’s rule… really like all the different stones and textures in Pompeii and that water spigot as a nose is too darn creative.. another great set of photos!!
Thanks Lynne… and I will pass the message on to Peggy.
Heck with Canons … I think Peggies rule …
Great shots, great commentary. Now to explore further …