In AD 79, Mt. Vesuvius erupted in two stages. While the first
stage was incredibly destructive, it was the second stage, a
so-called pyroclastic flow, that inundated Pompeii with a
combination of superheated gases, pumice, and rocks, killing tens
of thousands of people and animals and burying them in ash and
mud.
During excavations of the town in 1863, Giuseppe Fiorelli, the
director of the dig, poured plaster of paris into a cavity under
the soil revealed by a workman's pick. When the plaster set and the
mound was uncovered, all were amazed to see the secret that the
ground had held for 1,800 years: a detailed cast of an ancient
Pompeian such as no one had seen before, frozen in the instant of
dying and complete in every respect, including outlines of the
clothes he was wearing at the time of the destruction. The bodies,
photographed and exhibited in the specially built Pompeii Museum,
completely changed the world's ideas of life in ancient Italy.
"Pompeii's Living Statues" is a narrative account, supported by
contemporary documents, of the remarkable discovery of those
ancient victims preserved in the volcanic mud of Vesuvius.
Eugene Dwyer examines these casts and related records, the
originals of a number of which (along with their museum) were lost
in World War II bombing. As he considers the casts as
archaeological and cultural pieces, he also discusses Pompeii and
its artifacts in the context of Italian unification and party
politics, the development of modern excavation methods, and the
challenges of maintaining a very large archaeological site. Dwyer's
clear organization and writing style, combined with a collection of
photographs and engravings, make for a fascinating exploration of
Pompeii and its victims.
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