Without a doubt, on your visit to the spectacular archaeological remains of Pompeiisouth of Nápoles, what will impress you the most are the human figures that you can in some of the rooms of the ancient roman city.
Which is the origin of these human figures, as you can see them currently?
To know this origin you have to understand how the inhabitants of Pompeii died, During the eruption of nearby volcano Vesuvius, in the year 79 AD.
All the information in detail
How the inhabitants of Pompeii died
The large volcanic cloud caused by the eruption, which is known as pyroclastic cloud, caused the death of the inhabitants of Pompeii, not due to asphyxiation, as was thought for centuries, but due to a very high temperature of more than 300 degrees Celsius.
It was an instant death as a result of the effects of the great explosion that produced a pyroclastic cloud 30 kilometers high, and that in just one minute covered the Roman city of Pompeii.
The result is the great expressiveness and great drama of much of the human figures that you can see when you visit Pompeii.
What the human figures of Pompeii look like
Now, contrary to what you may think, Those figures are not solidified human remains.
It was in 1863 when the archaeologist then responsible for the excavations, Joseph Fiorelli, discovered a emptying method to create the human figures that we can now see.
By discovering in the hollow volcanic ash blocks with human remains, these gaps, as if they were molds, were filled with plaster as these remains decomposed.
The result is the figures that we now see, which are made of plaster.
Places to see human figures in Pompeii
During your visit to Pompeii, there are two prominent places where you can see human figures.
On the one hand, in the so-called Forum Barns (13, in the Pompeii Guide), near the entrance by Marine Gate, and one of the most visited sites of archaeological remains.
I can tell you that the figure that will surprise you the most is that of a dramatically twisted dog.
And another place, more remote, but where there are more figures, is in the so-called Garden of the Fugitives (56)
It is a large space where there is now a vineyard, which you find southeast of Pompeii, near the Amphitheater Plaza Gate.
Finally, in the Villa of Mysteries you can also see a human figure on display.30
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