Vesuvius

Having spent the best part of the last week looking at towns and villas that had been buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79, today we went to see what had caused all the problems. We went to the top of Vesuvius; you can get so far by road but the last section needs to be done on foot, and it is quite a climb! Definitely not for the unfit, but the views from the top were breathtaking and the sheer scale of the mountain is difficult to describe. These shots were taken at the top; the first, looking back along the path to show the slope of the mountain and also how far it is to the town below, whilst the second was taken from the bend in the path on the top picture, looking into the crater. To get an idea of the scale, at the lowest point of the horizon on the crater shot is a line of people; even if you expand the picture up as large as you can I very much doubt you will be able to see them.

Following lunch, a visit to our final excavation of the week, the villa at Oplontis. Although there is a great deal to see, only a small portion of the villa has been excavated but it is clear from the size and quality of the villa and the wall paintings, many of which are still in place, that this was not the villa of some ordinary citizen. It is thought that it was the property of the wealthy Poppaea family, and possibly owned by Poppaea Sabina, the wife of Emperor Nero. Like many properties it had suffered damage in the earthquake of AD65 but unlike others was still being repaired at the time of the eruption fourteen years later, suggesting it was only one of many properties owned by the family.