Exploring Pompeii in Hong Kong (17.6.2016)

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• published: 18 Jun 2016
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The explosive eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD was a natural disaster that quickly became a human tragedy when billions of tons of molten rock, ash and pumice buried the Roman city of Pompeii and other nearby towns, killing most of their inhabitants. However, the volcanic fallout preserved the disaster scene for over 1,500 years, giving us a glimpse at daily life in a Roman town and a graphic record of the tragedy that unfolded that fateful day. The victims' stories are being told through priceless artefacts now on show in the Mare Nostrum: Roman Navy & Pompeii exhibition at the Museum of History. The show is one of the highlights of the Leisure & Cultural Services Department's Muse Fest HK 2016 event. It features 110 sets of exhibits gathered from 10 museums and heritage organisations across Italy, including body casts of the Pompeii victims, jewellery, marble reliefs and statues. There are also artefacts recovered from Roman navy shipwrecks. Forever changed Pompeii was founded in the 6th to 7th century BC, with the people of central Italy attracted to it due to the fertile soil surrounding Mount Vesuvius, which had not had a major eruption for generations. "They had never experienced any volcanic eruptions," Museum of History Curator Terence Cheung said. "The only reason they chose to live there was because it was intensively cultivated. They did not know there was a risk." On August 24, 79 AD, the eruption took the citizens of Pompeii by surprise. Many were stopped abruptly in the daily tasks they were performing. One of the show's most intriguing exhibits is a loaf of bread which would have been baked that day. It has been preserved for nearly 2,000 years. Mr Cheung said: "Details of everyday life have been preserved. The excavated city offers a snapshot of Roman life in the 1st century, frozen in time at the moment it was buried." The rediscovery Hidden under 10 metres of debris, Pompeii was lost to the outside world and forgotten. But in 1863 archaeologists found cavities in the ash layer containing human remains. The voids had been formed by the decomposing bodies of the eruption's victims. The archaeologists poured plaster into the cavities to recreate the forms of the deceased Pompeiians. Mr Cheung said these casts are invaluable because they give a graphic account of the disaster scene and show daily Roman life. "The plaster casts show the final postures of the victims at the moment of death. They show the facial expressions and even the folds in their clothes." Our sea Mare Nostrum, or "Our Sea", was how ancient Romans referred to the Mediterranean Sea, and it was the Roman navy that tried to evacuate the people fleeing the eruption. Patrizia Pietrogrande, president of Contemporanea Progetti, one of the exhibition's organisers, said the evacuation attempt marked one of the first recorded civilian rescue missions in history, as well as the high point in Roman navigational development. "The first time the navy tried to help people in difficulties was with Pompeii, because Plinius (Pliny) the Elder tried to save the people, but he was not able to, he died. But he tried." The exhibition also features a ram used on the bow of Roman navy vessels, one of the most fearsome weapons in the Roman arsenal. The ram could sink or cripple an enemy ship by piercing its hull. The exhibition also has a great variety of multimedia programmes and 3D animations allowing visitors to experience the formidable force of the volcano that destroyed Pompeii and showing the development of Roman maritime navigation. The show runs until August 29. (http://bit.ly/1UnfSsg)