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Ok, a tour guide is CLEARLY the way to see Pompeii. He showed us lots of cool bits I'm sure I would have missed. How do you distinguish a shop from a home? The groove for the door.
I thought the roads were amazing. Uncut large stones (T argues that the stones were cut. I compare them to the stone flat streets of Naples, which were clearly cut and easier to walk on), they were a mild challenge to walk on. Everyone had to watch their feet. But the wildest part was the grooves. I can see grooves in asphalt or gravel or dirt for carts or cars; I see them in our modern world. But there were grooves in the SOLID ROCK that were clearly from wheels. That doesn't even address how rough the ride would have been over those (smooth but) uncut rocks.
These guys were amazingly inventive for the tools they had. And I'm not talking about the stone prostitutes' beds (which I HOPE were covered in something softer), or the penis in the road to show the way, or the menu on the walls to tell the customers the available options. I'm a drainage story fan. They hadn't figured out that Lead Pipes For Water Are Bad (calcium deposits fixed it in a generation anyway), but everything else was cool.
How do you add drainage to an already built city? How do you deal with the uncomfortable fact that the roads all become rivers when it rains?! Pave over the existing roads, but leave space between for the water! Genius.
One house had this strange room. It was like slightly below ground maze of stone. Unwalkable. I asked, and it was their water filtration system, made of pumice. Cool!
I thought the roads were amazing. Uncut large stones (T argues that the stones were cut. I compare them to the stone flat streets of Naples, which were clearly cut and easier to walk on), they were a mild challenge to walk on. Everyone had to watch their feet. But the wildest part was the grooves. I can see grooves in asphalt or gravel or dirt for carts or cars; I see them in our modern world. But there were grooves in the SOLID ROCK that were clearly from wheels. That doesn't even address how rough the ride would have been over those (smooth but) uncut rocks.
These guys were amazingly inventive for the tools they had. And I'm not talking about the stone prostitutes' beds (which I HOPE were covered in something softer), or the penis in the road to show the way, or the menu on the walls to tell the customers the available options. I'm a drainage story fan. They hadn't figured out that Lead Pipes For Water Are Bad (calcium deposits fixed it in a generation anyway), but everything else was cool.
How do you add drainage to an already built city? How do you deal with the uncomfortable fact that the roads all become rivers when it rains?! Pave over the existing roads, but leave space between for the water! Genius.
One house had this strange room. It was like slightly below ground maze of stone. Unwalkable. I asked, and it was their water filtration system, made of pumice. Cool!
