Ancient apocalypse. Who survived the last day of Pompeii? Pompeii - a city buried alive History of Pompeii Italy

Ancient city of Pompeii was formed back in the 6th century BC. If it were not for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which burned the entire city to the ground, covering it with a huge layer of volcanic ash, Pompeii would still exist not far from Naples. Now these are ruins that UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site.

The name Pompeii arose after the unification of five independent cities (pumpe - five). This is a more plausible version. There is a legend according to which Hercules defeated the giant Geryon in a tough battle, and after that he solemnly walked around the city, celebrating the victory. From the ancient Greek language pumpe is a solemn, triumphal procession.

In those days, people believed in God, and believed that the gods controlled earthly cataclysms. Despite the fact that on February 5, 62 AD. e. A strong earthquake occurred, which could possibly have been the impetus for a volcanic eruption, people still continued to live in the city, worshiping the gods, and believing that no misfortune would happen to them. Still, the volcano erupted. It happened August 24, 79 AD Not only the city of Pompeii suffered, but also nearby cities - Herculaneum, Stabiae. The eruption was so strong that the ash even reached neighboring countries - Egypt and Syria. About 20 thousand people lived in the city. Some managed to escape even before the disaster began, but many died. The exact number of victims is unknown, but the remains of bodies were found far outside the city.

The city remained under a layer of ash for many centuries until in 1592 by Dominico Fontana(a famous architect of that time) did not stumble upon the city wall while laying a canal from the Sarno River. No one gave this wall much importance, and only about 100 years later in the ruins of Pompeii they found a tablet with the inscription “Pompeii” carved on it. Even after this incident, no one could have imagined that this was an ancient city that had disappeared from the face of the earth. They concluded that this was the old villa of Pompey the Great.

And so in 1748 the extraction of the ancient city began. Led the excavations Alcubierre, who was sure that this was the city of Stabia. Directly in Pompeii itself, only three excavations were carried out in different places. Alcubierre was a barbarian, and he sent all finds that, in his opinion, were of interest to the Naples Museum, and simply destroyed others. Many scientists protested, and the excavations stopped.

In 1760, new excavations began, led by F. Vega. They continued until 1804. Vega and his subordinates spent 44 years retrieving works of art. All finds were restored anew and removed very carefully. At this time, tourists had already begun to come here, so many monuments were not immediately transferred to museums, but were left on display for visitors to the city of Pompeii, which had already become a museum.

In 1863, excavations continued. This time they were led Giuseppe Fiorelli. It was he who discovered a huge number of voids under layers of ash. These are nothing more than the bodies of the city's inhabitants. By filling these voids with plaster, scientists completely reproduced casts of human bodies, right down to facial expressions.

On August 24, 79, Vesuvius erupted. It was so strong that it completely destroyed three cities. Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae simply disappeared from the face of the Earth. Many residents died in severe torture, and their houses were buried under a multi-meter layer of stones and volcanic ash.

It is believed that the story of the death of Pompeii is well known. Archaeological excavations are constantly underway there. Eyewitness accounts have also been preserved. The same Pliny described everything in great detail. However, much about this tragedy remains unclear, and new facts are constantly emerging:

The inhabitants of Pompeii knew that there might be an eruption

The harbinger of the tragedy was a powerful earthquake that occurred in 62. There were practically no undamaged buildings left in the city at that time, some were completely destroyed. And the day before the eruption of 79 there was a series of tremors. Of course, the inhabitants of Pompeii did not understand that this was connected with the volcano. But they believed: the earth was shaking due to the heavy tread of the giants, who warned that people were in danger of death.

Shortly before the eruption, the water temperature in the Bay of Naples increased sharply, and in some places reached the boiling point. All streams and wells on the slopes of Vesuvius have dried up. From the depths of the mountain, eerie sounds began to be heard, reminiscent of a drawn-out groan. That's interesting the roar of the earth, which has been heard all over the planet in recent years, also foreshadows the death of thousands of people?

Most of the residents managed to leave the city

About a tenth of the population died on the streets of Pompeii - about 2 thousand people. The rest may have managed to escape. This means that the disaster did not take people by surprise. This is clear from Pliny's letters. True, the remains of the dead were found outside the city, so no one knows the exact number of dead. According to some reports, the total number of victims of the eruption in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia is 16 thousand people.

People fled to the harbor, hoping to leave the dangerous territory by sea. During excavations on the coast, many remains were discovered. Apparently, the ships were unable or did not have time to accept everyone. And those who remained hoped to sit out in remote cellars or closed rooms. Then, however, they tried to get out, but it was too late.

How Pompeii really died

Some believe that people burned alive in streams of hot lava, and the city was engulfed in flames. In fact, everything was not like that. Vesuvius practically did not erupt lava at that time. And if fires did break out anywhere, it was only by accident. This is known from the letters of Pliny.

First, a gray-black column of smoke and ash rose from the crater. Then the volcano began to eject larger debris. The hot cloud reached 33 kilometers in height. The energy of Vesuvius was many times greater than that released during the atomic explosion over Hiroshima. People rushed through the streets in panic, but quickly became exhausted, fell and covered their heads with their hands in despair.

Destructive hydrothermal pyroclastic flows poured into the city. Their temperatures reached 700 °C. They brought fear and death. Hot water mixed with ash, and the resulting mass stuck to everything that was in its path. A rockfall began. All this lasted 18-20 hours. The volcano erupted a huge amount of stones and slag.

It was difficult to breathe; a heavy black veil hung in the air. People fought for their lives, tried to escape from imminent death, and find safe areas. Then they fell exhausted, and were quickly covered with ash. They suffocated and died in cruel agony. Distorted faces, mouths open in a silent scream, convulsively clenched hands, cramped fingers... This is how most of the townspeople died.

As a result, the city was buried under volcanic rocks. The bottom layer consists of stones and small pieces of plasma. Its average thickness is 7 meters. Then there is a two-meter layer of ash. The total is about 9 meters, but in some places the thickness of the rubble was much greater.

The creepy photos are not corpses, but just plaster casts

Most of Pompeii's inhabitants are buried in the upper layers of volcanic ash. They lay there for almost 2 thousand years, but, at first glance, they were well preserved. In the photographs, which are abundant on the Internet, you can see not only the position of the bodies at the moment of death, but even the expression of horror and agony on the faces of the unfortunate people.

But in fact, these are only casts that archaeologists make. The first to come up with this idea was a certain Giuseppe Fiorelli, who led the excavations. Back in 1870, he discovered that voids had formed at the sites where people died. After all, the ash mixed with water that poured onto the city during the eruption densely stuck around the dead. The mass dried and hardened, preserving the exact imprints of bodies, folds of clothing, facial features and even the smallest wrinkles.

By filling them with plaster, the scientist received accurate and very realistic casts. This is how he managed to reproduce people’s poses and obtain their death masks. But the bodies themselves have long since turned to dust. And it’s still creepy... This is not for you photo of chupacabra, which look more like ordinary fakes. Everything is real here.

The death of Pompeii is a punishment for moral degradation

So, at least, some historians and philosophers thought. Indeed, when archaeologists excavated the city, they found many frescoes with unambiguous content. And there were more lupanariums (in other words, brothels) and separate rooms for meetings with prostitutes than, for example, bakeries. No wonder the inhabitants of Pompeii were considered the most dissolute in the Roman Empire.

Vesuvius is still dangerous, the tragedy may repeat itself

After 79, several more eruptions occurred. And each time it was a terrible tragedy. So, in 1631, approximately 4 thousand people became victims of the volcano. In 1805, an eruption killed about 26 thousand people and destroyed most of Naples. In 1944, 27 people died and lava flows destroyed the cities of Massa and San Sebastiano. You can read more about the volcano, and about the death of Pompeii -. By the way, there are documentary videos:

Panorama of the Forum in Pompeii, Vesuvius in the distance

Recent excavations have shown that in the 1st millennium BC. e. There was a settlement near the modern city of Nola in the 7th century BC. e. approached the mouth. A new settlement - Pompeii - was founded by the Osci in the 6th century BC. e. Their name most likely goes back to the Oscan pumpe- five, and is known from the very foundation of the city, which indicates the formation of Pompeii as a result of the merger of five settlements. The division into 5 electoral districts remained in Roman times. According to another version, the name comes from the Greek pompe(triumphal procession): according to the legend about the founding of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum by the hero Hercules, he, having defeated the giant Geryon, solemnly marched through the city.

The early history of the city is little known. Surviving sources speak of clashes between the Greeks and Etruscans. For some time Pompeii belonged to Cumae, from the end of the 6th century BC. e. were under the influence of the Etruscans and were part of a league of cities led by Capua. Moreover, in 525 BC. e. A Doric temple was built in honor of the Greek gods. After the defeat of the Etruscans in Kita, Syracuse in 474 BC. e. The Greeks regained dominance in the region. In the 20s of the 5th century BC. e. together with other cities of Campania, were conquered by the Samnites. During the Second Samnite War, the Samnites were defeated by the Roman Republic, and Pompeii around 310 BC. e. became allies of Rome.

Of the 20,000 inhabitants of Pompeii, about 2,000 people died in the buildings and on the streets. Most of the residents left the city before the disaster, but the remains of the victims are also found outside the city. Therefore, the exact number of deaths is impossible to estimate.

Among those who died from the eruption was Pliny the Elder, who, out of scientific interest and out of a desire to help people suffering from the eruption, tried to approach Vesuvius on a ship and found himself in one of the centers of the disaster - at Stabia.

Excavations

Time for archaeologists to study parts of the city

Wall painting styles

The inside walls of Roman houses were covered with frescoes, studied mostly from the examples of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. The German scientist August Mau in 1882 proposed dividing Pompeii frescoes into 4 styles. Subsequently, with the discovery of other monuments, this classification was expanded to cover all Roman wall painting. The time frames given here are specific to Pompeii; dates may vary in Rome and other cities.

1. Inlay or structural ( - years BC) - characterized by rustication (masonry or wall cladding with stones with a rough, convex front surface) and painting imitating cladding with marble slabs. Arose under the influence of Hellenistic art, reproductions of Greek paintings are often found.
2. Architectural style (80 BC -14) - columns, cornices, architectural compositions, landscapes were depicted on smooth walls, creating the illusion of volume and space receding into the distance. Human figures appear in the paintings, complex multi-figure compositions are created, often based on mythological subjects.
3. Egyptianized or ornamental (from 14 AD) - a transition to flat ornaments, framed by paintings, usually of pastoral themes.
4. Fantastic or perspective-ornamental (from 62 AD) - fantastic landscapes appear, the depicted architecture resembles theatrical scenery, ceasing to obey the laws of physics. Paintings depicting people become more dynamic.

City buildings

Forum

On either side of the staircase there were two triumphal arches. The western one was probably dedicated to Germanicus, while the eastern one was dismantled. Near the northern end of the temple there is an arch dedicated to Tiberius, in its niches facing the forum there were statues of Nero and Drusus.

Temple of Apollo

Apollo statue

Temple of Apollo

Along with the Doric temple in the triangular forum, this is the oldest temple of Pompeii. Some architectural details allow us to date it to BC. e. Presumably in the 2nd century BC. e. it was rebuilt, but nevertheless retained a characteristic feature of Greek architecture: a colonnade along the entire perimeter of the temple.

The temple faces the main entrance to the basilica and is surrounded by a portico painted with scenes from the Iliad. The temple itself is surrounded by 28 Corinthian columns, 2 of which are fully preserved. The floor is made using the same technique as the floor of the Temple of Jupiter. There is an altar in front of the stairs. A bronze statue of Apollo and a bust of Diana have also been preserved (the originals are in the Naples Museum, and there are copies in Pompeii). To the left of the altar, an Ionic column for a sundial was erected in the time of Augustus.

Temple of Fortuna Augustus and Arch of Caligula

It is located at the end of the Forum street, running from the Arch of Tiberius to the northwest. A small temple with a facade of 4 Corinthian columns was built at the expense of the duumvir Marcus Tullius on his own land. Inside the temple there are several niches for statues of Augustus, members of his family and, possibly, Tullius himself.

Behind the temple, the Forum street continues as the Mercury street. At its beginning there is a triumphal arch of Caligula (ruled in -41 AD), made of brick and lined with travertine (the remains of the cladding are preserved only at the base). An equestrian statue of the emperor was found next to the arch, probably located on it.

Other buildings

To the southwest of the Temple of Jupiter there were public latrines, warehouses for the grain trade (now archaeological finds are stored in them) and a weighing room - a storage place for the standards of Roman units of measurement, against which those used by traders in the forum were checked.

Complex of public buildings in the theater area

Triangular Forum

A triangular square surrounded by a colonnade of 95 Ionic columns. In the northern corner there was a propylaea with 6 Ionic columns, in the east it connected with the Samnite palaestra, the Great Theater and, along a long staircase, with the Quadriportico.

On the square there is a Greek temple from the 6th century BC. e. (so-called Doric Temple), dedicated to Hercules, the mythical founder of the city. The temple measured 21 by 28 m, was built of tuff, and a narrow staircase led to it from the south side. Behind the temple there was a sundial. It is surrounded on all sides by a colonnade: 7 columns on the short side and 11 on the long side.

Samnite palaestra

According to the dedicatory inscription, it was built by the duumvir Vivius Vinicius in the second half of the 2nd century BC. e.. It was surrounded on three sides by a portico, on the south side there was a pedestal where award ceremonies were held, and household premises were built on the west side. Due to its small size, by the Augustan era it could no longer accommodate everyone, after which the Great Palaestra was built.

Temple of Isis, photo 1870

Temple of Isis

In the center of the courtyard, surrounded by a portico with Corinthian columns, on a high plinth stood a temple from the end of the 2nd century BC. e., restored after the earthquake of 62 on behalf of the 6-year-old Popidius Celsinius by his father Popidius Ampliatus, who hoped in this way to promote the future political career of his son.

The façade of the temple is decorated with a portico 4 columns wide and 2 deep. On the sides there were niches with statues of Anubis and Harpocrates. There was also a container with water from the Nile in the temple.

Temple of Jupiter Meilichius

It was built back in the III-II century BC. e. and dedicated to Zeus, but was rebuilt and transferred to the cult of Jupiter in the 80s BC. e. Identical in shape to the Temple of Isis, but with a deeper inner sanctuary. Made of tuff, lined with marble.

According to another hypothesis, based on some finds on the territory of the temple, it was dedicated to Asclepius.

Quadriportic

The quadriportico (a square with a portico) served as a place where theater audiences gathered before the start of the performance and during intermissions. After the earthquake of 62, which destroyed the gladiator barracks in the northern part of the city, a quadriportico was adapted as a barracks. Weapons were found here and are now kept in the National Museum of Naples.

Grand Theatre

Grand Theatre

The Bolshoi Theater, which became the cultural center of the city, was built in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. e., using a natural slope to place seats for spectators. Under Augustus, the theater was expanded by the architect Marcus Artorius at the expense of Marcus Olkonius Rufus and Marcus Olkonius Celer by creating a superstructure above ground level supporting the upper rows of seats. As a result, it became capable of accommodating up to 5,000 spectators. It could have been covered with a canopy: the rings for it have survived to this day.

The bottom few rows ( ima cavea) were intended for noble citizens. Two balconies above the side entrances, also built by Marcus Artorius, are for priestesses and organizers of performances. The stage was decorated with columns, cornices and statues dating from after 62 AD.

Maly Theater

Maly Theater

Amphitheater Arena

Audience seats in the amphitheater

Amphitheater and Great Palaestra

Central Baths

Founded immediately after the earthquake of 62 AD. e., however, by 79 the pool had not been completed, and the portico of the palaestra had not even been started. The pipes through which water was supplied already existed, but the stoves were never built. They had a full set of halls, but only in one copy (without division into male and female sections).

Suburban baths

They were located 100 meters outside the Sea Gate on an artificial terrace. Because of their position, they were found and plundered already in antiquity. Their interesting feature is the large windows overlooking the sea. The pools are decorated with frescoes depicting waterfalls and mountain caves, as well as mosaics. However, the baths are best known for the 16 erotic frescoes in the fourth style (including the only known Roman depiction of lesbian sex) found in the early 1990s in the apodyteria. Their presence gave rise to the hypothesis that a lupanarium functioned in the building on the second floor, which, however, is rejected by archaeologists who studied the baths and most historians.

Lupanarium

In addition to the lupanarium, there were at least 25 single rooms in the city intended for prostitution, often located above wine shops. The cost of this type of service in Pompeii was 2-8 asses. The staff was represented mainly by slaves of Greek or Oriental origin.

Industrial buildings

Bakery in Pompeii: mills and oven visible

Providing food

In Pompeii, 34 bakeries were discovered that fully satisfied the needs of the townspeople and exported their products to neighboring settlements. Most famous Bakery Popidia Prisca And bakery on Stabius street, in which 5 hand mills have been preserved. There are two types of millstones: one fixed cone-shaped ( meta), another in the shape of an hourglass without a bottom or lid ( catillus), which was put on top of him. Grain was poured into the cavity of the upper chute and it was driven by slaves or oxen. The millstones are made from volcanic rocks. Many bakeries did not have counters to sell bread, either supplying it in bulk, delivering it door to door, or selling it on the street by hand.

Also in Pompeii, fish sauce “garum” was produced, which was sold in large quantities to other cities. A whole workshop for its preparation was excavated, in which amphoras for transporting the product were preserved. The technology was as follows: fish, boned and ground, was kept in salt (sea) water for several weeks. Often herbs, spices, and wine were added to it. They seasoned a wide variety of dishes with it.

In Pompeii, a system of thermopolis was developed (there were 89 establishments in total), which supplied people with hot food and allowed them to refuse to prepare it at home (many houses in Pompeii did not have a kitchen).

Crafts

One of the most important crafts in the city was the production of woolen fabrics. 13 wool processing workshops, 7 spinning and weaving workshops, 9 dyeing workshops were found. The most important production stage was wool felting, which was carried out in ancient Rome by fullons ( fullones). The peculiarities of the technology allowed them to also wash the clothes of the townspeople.

The most widely known is Pompeian Stefania fulling shop, a residential building converted into a workshop. The fullons felted and washed the wool from animal sweat and dirt in egg-shaped vats, of which Stefanius had three. Dirty clothes were also cleaned there. Soda or urine that had been left for 1-2 weeks was used as a detergent, which saponified the fat in the fabric. A container for collecting urine, for example, stood in the Eumachia building in the Forum. Throwing wool or very dirty cloth into the vat, the fullon trampled it with his feet ( saltus fullonicus- dance of the fullons, as Seneca called this process).

Then the wool and fabric had to be thoroughly rinsed in large containers, of which Stefanius also had three. Relatively clean and delicate items in his fulling shop were washed in the former impluvium of his Tuscan atrium. In addition, in the fulling shop there were containers for bleaching and dyeing things. Ironing of clothes was also carried out here; there was even a special press for tunics.

In another fulling mill (there are 18 of them in Pompeii), located on Mercurius Street, frescoes were found that shed light on the entire technological process of fullons.

Residential buildings

House of the Tragic Poet

It is a typical Roman house of the 2nd century BC. e. and is famous for its mosaic floors and frescoes depicting scenes from Greek mythology. Located opposite the Forum Baths. Named after the mosaic laid out in the floor of a rehearsal of a tragic performance. At the entrance to the house there is a mosaic with the image of a dog and the inscription “CAVE CANEM” (“beware of the dog”). On the sides of the entrance there were retail premises.

The walls of the atrium were decorated with images of Zeus and Hera, scenes from the Iliad. Currently, all these frescoes are in the Naples Museum.

House of the Surgeon

One of the oldest Pompeian residential buildings, built in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. e. It received its name due to the fact that numerous surgical instruments were found in it. The facade is made of limestone blocks, the internal walls are made using opus africanum(vertical structures made of alternating vertical and horizontal blocks placed on top of each other, between which the wall was lined with smaller stones or bricks). Frescoes in the first and fourth styles have been preserved.

House of the Faun

Alexander the Great from the House of Faun

The rich house, occupying the space between four streets - insulu (40 by 110 m), with an area of ​​3000 m² - is the most luxurious house in Pompeii. Presumably it was built for Publius Sulla, the nephew of the conqueror of the city, whom he placed at the head of Pompeii.

On the threshold of the main entrance to the house there is a mosaic inscription “HAVE” (hello), from here one could go into the Etruscan (Tuscan) atrium, which has preserved to this day an impluvium (a shallow pool for collecting rainwater) with a rich geometric inlay of multi-colored marble and a figurine of a dancing Faun, who gave the house its name. The second entrance was located to the east and led to a second, tetrastyle (with a roof supported by 4 columns), atrium, apparently intended for guests.

House of Moralist and House of Pinaria Ceriale

Moralist's House is located near the house of Lorey Tiburtina. So named because of the inscriptions in the summer triclinium (white on black):

1. Keep your feet clean and do not dirty your linens and beds,
2. Respect women and avoid obscene speech,
3. Refrain from anger and fighting.

Finally, the conclusion: “Otherwise, go back to your home.”

Located next door house of Pinaria Zeriale, owned by a jeweler. During its excavations, more than a hundred precious stones were found.

House of Julia Felix

It occupies one of the largest insulas in the city, but only a third of it is built up, 2/3 are gardens. Part of the house with bathhouses was rented out.

House of the Garden of Hercules (House of the Perfumer)

It was a relatively small house. The entrance led to a corridor flanked by two cubicles and ending in an atrium. Behind the atrium there were several more rooms and a huge garden, laid out in the 1st century BC. e. There are 5 similar houses on the site. In the garden there was a lararium with a statue of Hercules, from which the whole house took its name.

Frescoes of the Villa of Mysteries

Villa of Mysteries

Founded in the 2nd century BC. e., after which it expanded several times, in particular in 60 BC. e. The main entrance was facing the road leading from the Herculanean Gate. Currently, it is not fully opened, so the entrance to the villa is from the sea. Along the road there were agricultural premises, including a room with a grape press.

The beginning of the sacrament

The entrance, so wide that a cart could pass through it, led to the peristyle. To the southeast of it there was a courtyard with a lararium and a tetrastyle atrium, from which one could enter the baths. On the southwestern side, a Tuscan atrium was connected to the peristyle; from it, and also partly from the peristyle, doors led to numerous rooms decorated with frescoes in the second and third styles. The villa opened to the sea with a rotunda terrace with two porticoes on either side.

In the tablinum, connecting the Tuscan atrium with the rotunda, frescoes with Egyptian motifs have been preserved. The villa was named after the widely known frescoes in one of the rooms south of the atrium, where, according to the most common version, initiation into the Dionysian mysteries is depicted, and according to another, a wedding ceremony.

Pompeii in art

Movie

• “The Last Day of Pompeii” (Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeii, 1926)
• “The Last Days of Pompeii” (film, Italy-Germany, 1959)
• “The Last Days of Pompeii” (film, USSR, 1972)
• “The Last Days of Pompeii” (film, USA, UK, Italy, 1984)
• "Pompeii" (2007 film) (Italy)
• “The Naked Drummer” (Vesuvies group, with the song Pompeii Nights)
• "The Lights of Pompeii (Doctor Who)" (UK episode, 12 April 2008)

Painting

Literature

• Inspired by Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii,” Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote the novel “The Last Days of Pompeii.”
• “Vesuvius opened the mouth” - poem by Pushkin
• Short story by Théophile Gautier “Arria of Marcellus”
• Robert Harris' novel Pompeii

Music

• Live at Pompeii - live album by Pink Floyd at the ruins of the Pompeii Amphitheater (1973)
• Pompeii - song by E.S. Posthumus
• Cities in Dust - song by Siouxsie and the Banshees

Museums

Pompeii in astronomy

• the asteroid (203) Pompeii, discovered on September 25, 1879 by the German-American astronomer C. G. F. Peters at the Clinton Observatory, USA, is named after Pompeii

see also

Notes

1. Old settlement
2. Peter Connolly "Greece and Rome" encyclopedia of military history
3. Tacitus

Andreas Churilov, author of the book “The Not Last Day of Pompeii” unequivocally proved that all traditional history must be put to rest- the death of the famous city, dated in the framework of traditional history and science in 79 AD, actually occurred in 1631.

1. Maps and medieval sources

Pompeii and Herculaneum are marked on a map dating back to the 4th century AD, on maps from the 15th and 16th centuries, and on illustrations of the 1631 eruption of Vesuvius in books of the time.

Johannes Baptist Mascolo, an eyewitness to this eruption, writes:

“...Everything that came along the way was captured by this storm and whirlwind of fire. Cattle and herds were crushed and scattered in all directions along the outskirts of the fields. Trees, huts, houses, towers were knocked down and scattered. Of these fiery streams, two were the fastest, one rushed with force towards Herculaneum, the other towards Pompeii (cities that were once reborn from the ashes, I don’t know if they will live again)...

2. Sleeping Vesuvius

After the '79 eruption, various sources place up to eleven eruptions between the years 202 and 1140. But for the next 500 years there is no information about the eruptions of Vesuvius. Active with enviable regularity, the volcano suddenly switches off for half a millennium, and then since 1631 again regularly disturbs local residents. Such volcanic hibernation becomes easily explained if we take into account the chronological shift.

3. Epitaph

15 kilometers from Naples there is still a monument with an epitaph dedicated to the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631.

This epitaph, carved in 1738, describes the events of a terrible volcanic eruption. The list of affected cities includes the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

4. Medieval writing

In one of the restored texts on Pompeian papyri, diacritics were discovered - accents and aspirations, which, along with punctuation and ligatures, came into use only in the Middle Ages, and were completed only with the beginning of printing.

5. Three Graces

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples displays a fresco from the Pompeian excavations. It is an exact copy of Raphael’s famous painting “The Three Graces” of 1504, down to the poses and the smallest details of the composition. Either Leonardo da Vinci invented and gave Raphael a time machine, or the owner of a villa in Pompeii knew about Raphael’s painting and ordered medieval interior designers to make a copy of the then famous painting.

6. Technological level of the Middle Ages

During the excavations, a huge number of different instruments were found, indistinguishable in manufacturing technology from modern ones: a corner with a perfect right angle, compasses, tweezers, scalpels, dental instruments, complex musical instruments, including trombones with gold mouthpieces.

During construction, standard red-hot medieval bricks made on a belt press were used.

The frescoes depict bladed weapons from the 16th and 17th centuries - sabers and musketeer swords.

A water tap, which is a sealed structure of three parts: a body, a bushing with a through hole and a cylindrical shut-off valve ground into it.

A large number of iron parts have been found that, by definition, cannot be from the Bronze Age - locks, door handles, hinges, bolts, latches.

The supply and main pipes of the complex water supply system in Pompeii are made of lead. In England, for example, even to this day many old houses have the same lead pipes.

One of the frescoes depicts a pineapple, but this fruit appeared in Europe only after the discovery of America, in the 15th century.

In Pompeii, items made of bottle glass, perfume bottles of colored glass of different shades, and many absolutely transparent thin-walled items were discovered.

The same glass vases are depicted in numerous Pompeian frescoes excavated from the ashes of the city. However, clear glass was first produced only in the mid-15th century. And the secret of producing such glass for a long time was kept from competitors like the apple of an eye. In addition, large standard window glass was discovered in Herculaneum - 45x44 cm and 80x80 cm. But the first known window glass began to be made only in 1330, and the first standard window glass similar to Herculaneum was produced using the modern rolling method only in 1688.

7. Water pipeline Domenico Fontana

Even if there were none of the above points, the “antiquity” of Pompeii is negated in the literal and figurative sense by the water pipeline carried out by the famous papal engineer-architect Domenico Fontana. He was an advanced engineer of the time, who, among other things, installed an obelisk in the square in front of Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and completed the construction of the cathedral itself.

According to the official version, Pompeii, like Herculaneum, was discovered to the world almost by accident in 1748 during the restoration of the water supply to the gunpowder factory, the mills of which were driven by water coming through a canal from the Sarno River. One of the sections of the canal was underground and passed under a hill, which later turned out to be the city of Pompeii buried by Vesuvius. The hill was called “Gorodishche”. However, the official version is forced to recognize Domenico Fontana, who built the same water pipeline near Pompeii at the end of the 16th century, as the accidental discoverer of the buried city. And more than a hundred years later, the restoration of the same water pipeline led to the discovery of Pompeii.

It turns out that the engineer Fontana, while engaged in mining and tunneling work, came across the roofs and walls of houses in the city, buried under a multi-meter layer of ash. But, firstly, Domenico Fontana himself never mentioned such a find, and secondly, a two-kilometer tunnel cannot be built in volcanic soil without forced ventilation of the mine workings. The poisonous gas released from volcanic soils makes it impossible to carry out any underground work without effective ventilation, with which the mine would resemble the Titanic, with a main tunnel and huge “pipes” for ventilation. After all, if Fontana had laid a water pipeline under a multi-meter layer of volcanic ash, then the mines would have been many meters long. Instead of such structures, we see ordinary city wells.

Very rarely, a water pipeline is laid in violation of urban infrastructure, as, for example, here.

The depth of the water conduit is insignificant in relation to the zero level of Pompeii, and, with few exceptions, it passes under the streets, walls of houses and religious buildings.

If you follow the route of the water conduit laid by Fontana near Pompeii, you can discover amazing things. Traces of laying the road surface, a water mill, which archaeologists call the “Bourbon water lift”, but which is not on the maps of the Bourbon and later periods.

Early topographic maps of Pompeii before excavations began did not indicate any wells. All water supply wells were discovered exclusively during excavations, mostly in the 20th century. Some wells are equipped with stone console steps built into one of the side walls. Some wells are simply destroyed by restorers. There is a well with a side door. Another well has a window in one of the walls. Why make a window underground? And how was it possible to plaster the well from the outside if it was laid out like a vertical shaft from the inside?

In the courtyards of the Temple of Isis, the conduit also had a well, now destroyed, it is represented in an 18th century engraving by Francesco Piranesi, who depicted the Temple of Isis immediately after its excavations. The well is depicted with side slopes and covers - which is logical for a simple city well.

This was the first water supply well discovered during excavations. Therefore, at the time of Piranesi, they did not yet understand what danger he posed to the official version of the death of Pompeii in deep antiquity.

When leaving Pompeii, the conduit opens into an L-shaped well with steps and a side entrance.

The canal outside the city, laid using the trench method, had to be dug out for more than 20 years. The mills of the new gunpowder factory of the Spanish Viceroy were launched only in 1654. However, according to the official version, the catastrophic eruption of 1631, located there, was not affected in any way by the catastrophic eruption of 1631.

How do archaeologists comment on this obvious fact? The first excavations of the water pipeline were carried out back in 1955, they are still being carried out, but neither the results of old nor new excavations have yet been published, because then a lot will have to be revised...

Why hide?

It would seem that there is nothing more monolithic than historical science, firmly standing on three pillars.

The first pillar of history is the primary sources, which, to varying degrees of preservation, supposedly exist for two historical millennia.

But the fact is that it is very easy to falsify any written source. For example, the entire 19th century can easily be called the century of fakes. Allegedly, ancient Greek manuscripts, letters from monarchs, famous scientists, and many other documents were forged not in hundreds, not in thousands, but in tens of thousands of copies. For example, between 1822 and 1835, more than 12,000 manuscripts of famous people were sold in France alone...

But even before the 19th century, activities to falsify sources were a state European program. In the Middle Ages, ancient ancient manuscripts are found en masse and very conveniently in the abandoned towers of monasteries, and businessmen in the field of hoaxes, such as Poggio Bracciolini, who also wrote the “History” of Tacitus, sell the “originals” of antiquity to the rich people of that time for a lot of money.

The second pillar of history is archeology, which has been digging for 400 years wherever possible, and everything that is dug up only confirms the traditional version. However, in practice, archeology merely legalizes an already existing historical framework, tying finds to an established chronology, despite obvious contradictions. Technological artifacts found in Pompeii are a vivid illustration of this process.

The third pillar of history is independent dating methods, the well-known radiocarbon and dendrochronological methods. But even here the declared independence is completely unjustified.

Despite the fact that the Nobel Prize in chemistry was given for the discovery of radiocarbon dating, in fact, it only works to confirm the existing chronology. In order not to get something seditious, laboratories conducting such analyzes never take a sample blindly, without indicating its place of origin and estimated age, strictly tied to a chronological scale.

If radiocarbon dating supports our theories, we put it to work. If it does not completely contradict them, we put it in a footnote. And if it doesn't fit completely, we just don't take it.

There is justified criticism of these methods, for example, in the work "ERRORS IN THE BASIC POSTULATES OF RADIOCARBON AND ARGON-ARGON DATING"

One of the first samples to hone the Radiocarbon dating method was bread from Pompeii. There were no dendrochronological calibration curves at that time, and despite the approximate half-life known at that time, the results amazingly exactly coincided with the generally accepted chronology. Essentially, Radiocarbon dating is a method of fitting into an existing chronological timeline.

The same applies to the dendrochnological method, the tables of which are based on the same standard chronology. The date of the death of Pompeii in 79 AD is one of the fundamental benchmarks there.

So why did European specialists work and continue to work on exalting their history and attributing it to ancient times? It’s all very simple - when the Slavs with slingshots were chasing bears through the forests, Europeans were already living in cities and eating pineapples. This means that in modern political issues, the younger brother must listen to the more mature, by as much as one and a half thousand years, European civilization. This is exactly how the essence of History as an ideological weapon manifests itself.

But it is not clear why Russian historians are still working on the historical tale composed by Miller, Schlozer, and Bayer. Maybe it's time to stop working against your country and start working for the benefit of your compatriots?

But while certified historians are in no hurry to clear out the Augean stables of false chronology, this task is being solved by competent, indifferent enthusiasts. Andreas Churilov's research is a prime example of such work.

Tourists visiting Southern Italy and its pearl, the city of Naples, have the opportunity to enjoy beautiful views, including the majestic mountain, located just a few kilometers from the city limits.

The mountain, only 1281 meters high, does not look intimidating, especially if you don’t know its name - Vesuvius. It is the only active volcano in continental Europe and one of the most dangerous volcanoes known to mankind.

For those who do not find the appearance of Vesuvius frightening, local residents will advise a trip to the coast of the Gulf of Naples, east of Naples. There are three ancient cities there - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, life in which ceased on one day, August 24, 79, when the volcano began to speak in full force.

In the 1st century AD, serious and systematic observations of volcanoes, including Vesuvius, were not carried out. And it’s unlikely that they would have helped - Vesuvius has not been active since the Bronze Age and was considered extinct long ago.

In 74 BC Spartacus and the gladiators who joined him at the very beginning of their uprising hid from their pursuers precisely on Vesuvius, covered with lush vegetation.

Local residents did not feel any threat from the proximity to the volcano.

"Ancient Roman Rublevka" was founded by Hercules

The largest of the ancient cities adjacent to Vesuvius was the city of Pompeii, founded in the 6th century BC. In the city, which was considered a colony of Rome after the capture of the Roman dictator Sulla in 89 BC, according to modern estimates, about 20 thousand people lived. It was an important point on the trade route between Rome and southern Italy, and such a favorable location was one of the reasons for its prosperity.

In addition, Pompeii can be called something between an ancient resort and the “ancient Roman Rublyovka” - many noble citizens of Rome had their villas here.

Nearby Herculaneum, like Pompeii, was founded in the 6th century BC. Its founding was attributed Hercules, who performed one of the feats in these places and “celebrated” this event by founding not even one, but two cities (the second was Pompeii).

The city, located directly on the seashore, was used as a port for a long time and developed successfully. However, by 79, the best time for Herculaneum was already in the past - the city was badly damaged by a powerful earthquake that occurred in 62, and by the time of the new disaster no more than 4,000 people lived in it.

By 79, Stabiae was considered a city only conditionally. The once fairly large settlement was virtually completely destroyed during the “visit of Sulla” in 89 BC, as a result of which Pompeii lost its independence.

The city was not restored, but representatives of the Roman aristocracy from among those who did not make it to the “Rublevka” in Pompeii chose it for their villas.

End of the world after lunch

Less than 20 years before the eruption of Vesuvius, a large-scale earthquake occurred in this area. A number of villages near Herculaneum and Pompeii were completely destroyed, and there was very serious destruction in the cities themselves.

Human memory, however, can quickly erase unpleasant memories. Over the course of 17 years, much of what was destroyed was rebuilt. This is especially true for the city of Pompeii, which has become even better than before. The attractions of the city were the Temple of Jupiter, the forum and the amphitheater, which could accommodate almost the entire population of Pompeii.

Life in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae went on as usual until August 24, 79. Moreover, on this day people flocked to the Pompeii amphitheater to watch gladiator fights.

The eruption began on the afternoon of August 24 and came as a complete surprise to residents of nearby towns and villages. Vesuvius threw a huge cloud of hot ash into the sky. The thermal energy released by the volcano during the eruption was several times greater than the energy released during the bombing of Hiroshima. The cloud of stones, ash and smoke reached a height of 33 kilometers. The western part of the volcano exploded and fell into an expanded crater.

Despite the horror of what was happening, for city residents the disaster was not at all lightning fast. Ash fall, although it made breathing difficult and made it difficult to move around the city, was not a fatal phenomenon. Everyone who was able to assess the impending threat began to quickly leave the cities that were in danger. But not everyone could objectively assess the degree of danger.

Save yourself, whoever wants to

Famous ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder, who in 79 held the post of commander of the galley fleet in Misenum on the shores of the Gulf of Naples, with the beginning of the eruption, attracted by its grandeur, headed to Stabiae in order to observe the violence of the elements and help the victims. Arriving in Stabia a few hours later, he was unable to leave due to the low tide. While calming the frightened inhabitants and awaiting changes in conditions at sea, Pliny the Elder died suddenly. According to one version, the cause of his death was sulfur fumes.

From his nephew's letters Pliny the Younger It is known that the disaster developed over a long period of time. Pliny the Elder, for example, died on the night of August 26, that is, more than a day after the start of the eruption.

According to researchers, the fatal blow to Pompeii and Herculaneum was dealt by pyroclastic flows - a mixture of high-temperature (up to 800 degrees Celsius) volcanic gases, ash and stones, capable of reaching speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour. It was pyroclastic flows that caused the death of most of the people remaining in Herculaneum.

However, these flows hit the cities no earlier than 18-20 hours after the start of the disaster. All this time, the city residents had the opportunity to avoid death, which, obviously, the majority took advantage of.

It is very difficult to establish the exact number of victims of the disaster, because numbers of different orders are called. But, according to modern estimates, most likely, out of 20 thousand inhabitants of the city of Pompeii, about two thousand died. In Stabiae and Herculaneum the number of deaths was lower due to the fact that they themselves were much smaller than Pompeii.

Pliny the Younger did not witness what happened in Pompeii and Herculaneum, but he left evidence of the panic at Misenum, which survived the disaster: “The panic-stricken crowd followed us and (like any soul maddened with horror, any proposal seems more prudent , than her own) pressed on us like a dense mass, pushing us forward when we came out... We froze in the midst of the most dangerous and terrifying scene. The chariots that we ventured to take out shook so violently back and forth, although they were standing on the ground, that we could not hold them up even by placing large stones under the wheels. The sea seemed to roll back and be pulled away from the shores by the convulsive movements of the Earth; definitely the land expanded significantly, and some sea animals found themselves on the sand... Finally, the terrible darkness began to gradually dissipate, like a cloud of smoke; daylight appeared again, and the sun even came out, although its light was gloomy, as happens before an approaching eclipse. Every object that appeared before our eyes (which were extremely weakened) seemed to have changed, covered with a thick layer of ash, as if snow.”

Canned history

After the first impact, a second wave of pyroclastic flows followed, which completed the job. Pompeii and Stabiae found themselves under a layer of ash and pumice 8 meters deep; in Herculaneum the layer of ash, stones and dirt was about 20 meters.

Who died in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae?

Among the victims of the eruption were many slaves, whom their owners left to guard their property. Elderly and sick people who were unable to leave the cities due to their condition died. There were also those who decided that they would be able to wait out the disaster in their own home.

Some of the victims of the eruption, having already left the city, remained dangerously close to it. They died from poisoning by gases released during the rampage of Vesuvius.

Huge masses of ash and pyroclastic flows “mothballed” the cities and those who remained in them, in the state in which they were at the time of destruction.

The surviving residents did not attempt to excavate the site of the tragedy, simply moving to a new location.

The lost cities were remembered only in the 18th century, when, after a new eruption of Vesuvius, workers in this area stumbled upon ancient Roman coins. For some time, the territory became a paradise for gold miners. Later they were replaced by hunters of rarities in the form of statues and other historical relics.

Full excavations of the city of Pompeii have begun Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli. It was he who discovered that voids had formed in place of the bodies of people and animals buried under a layer of volcanic ash. By filling these voids with plaster, it was possible to reconstruct the dying poses of the victims of the eruption.

Giuseppe Fiorelli began the systematic work of scientists in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, which continues to this day.

As for Vesuvius, 2014 marks 70 years since its last major eruption. However, scientists are convinced that the longer he is silent, the more powerful his next blow will be.