| Actual Image
Pompeii Tomb (1)
terez93
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 67 W: 72 N: 248]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (666) | | A tomb situated just outside the walls of Pompei on the via Nuceria; I think this was outside the Stabian gate. A few of them can still be seen, but in antiquity each of these small niches would have featured busts of ancestors whose remains were interred in the tomb. This was one of the larger tombs and had clearly been in use for some time before the eruption. A few bits of the sculptures remain, as do their bases. It appears as if the top section may have been a later addition when more niches were needed. Only one or two of the inscriptions remain that tell us who the individuals were. I couldn't see them very clearly from the ground, however... something about "Flavius" and his wife. The devastating earthquake that rocked the Bay of Naples in 62 AD (the first signs that the volcano was coming out of a long dormant period that may have lasted 1500 years) may also have damaged the tomb and its sculptures. Inhabitants in the region were unaware that the mountain in their back yard was a volcano due to this very long period of inactivity. The massive eruption that destroyed many towns in the area occurred only 17 years later, in 79 AD. |
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