On Walkabout At: The Pompeii Exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Basic Information

• What: A Day In Pompeii exhibit
• Where: Denver, Colorado
• Price:  $26 for non-members (More pricing info here)
• More Information: Denver Museum of Nature and Science website

Narrative

On a recent weekend my wife and I drove up to Denver, Colorado to view the exhibit showing for a limited time called, “A Day In Pompeii”.  The exhibit is located at the sprawling Denver Museum of Nature and Science which is easily accessed off of I-25 at Colorado Boulevard and following the road to the large City Park where the museum is located next to the Denver Zoo:

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We have been to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science a few times since we bought a one year membership to the place about two months ago.  Our daughter loves looking at the dinosaurs and animals on the display at the museum.  Besides the nature and science exhibits at the museum, it also regularly houses rotating exhibitions of various subjects.  The rotating exhibition at the museum now is the “A Day In Pompeii” exhibit.  Most people have heard of the Roman town of Pompeii that was destroyed by the volcano Mt. Vesuvius back in 79AD:

However, this exhibits allows everyone who has heard of this historical event to actually experience it first hand by being able to see a large exhibition of various objects recovered from the city of Pompeii that are in amazingly great condition:

The map below shows the region of Italy that Pompeii was located at when Mt. Vesuvius erupted:

This article from the BBC website gives a good account of what happened that day nearly 2000 years ago:

It is certain that when the eruption of Vesuvius started on the morning of 24 August, AD 79, it caught the local population utterly unprepared. Although at the same time, as we now know in retrospect, all the tell-tale signs were there to warn them.

It is mainly thanks to the vivid eye-witness account of the younger Pliny (a Roman administrator and poet, whose many vivid letters have been preserved), that we have some understanding of what happened. And it is through him that we can gain insight into the reactions and feelings of the people caught up in the drama of this natural catastrophe.

Pliny’s account leaves no doubt that everyone was caught unprepared. His uncle, known as Pliny the Elder, was stationed in command of the imperial naval base at Misenum, on the north-west extremity of the Bay of Naples. He was not only the senior military officer in the district, but possibly the most well informed living Roman on matters of natural science. His 37-volume Natural History is the longest work on science in Latin that has survived from antiquity.

But for all his science and his seniority, his nephew tells us that the elder Pliny was relaxing, after a bath and lunch, when Vesuvius started to erupt. And the sighting of a column of smoke ‘like an umbrella pine’ on the far side of the Bay triggered a response more of curiosity than of alarm in him. He and his companions were evidently not anticipating such an event.

The same account reveals, however, that the signs were there. Pliny’s casual reference to earth tremors ‘which were not particularly alarming because they are frequent in Campania’ reveals the Roman’s comprehensive ignorance of the link between seismic activity (earth tremors) and volcanic activity.

The volcanologists of today constantly monitor any changes in levels of seismic activity from the observatory on Vesuvius, because they know that the same increase of activity in the deep reservoir of magma (molten or partially molten rock beneath the Earth’s surface) causes both earth tremors and volcanic eruptions. Through measuring seismic activity, these scientists expect to predict an approaching eruption months in advance. [BBC]

You can read the rest about this historical tragedy at the link or better yet go to the Denver Museum and learn about it first hand.  To enter the exhibition my family and I had to purchase tickets for a specific time to be allowed in.  This is done to keep the crowds to a manageable level throughout the day inside the large exhibition hall:

One of the first pieces seen when walking into the exhibition hall are these posts that are believed to have been posted as a decoration on a street corner:

The craftmanship on these poles is just tremendous and still beautiful after all these centuries:

Throughout the exhibition it was easy to see how much the Romans appreciated art.  Their walls were even painted with fine artwork that amazingly survived the volcanic eruption and 2,000 years later is sitting in Denver:

Here are examples of small pieces of art likely of various Roman gods or family members that some how survived the eruption as well:

Even every day objects like this table had exquisite craftsmanship:

This Roman bed was about the least fancy every day item on display:

Besides the incredible artwork on the larger items there was also many smaller every day items used by the Romans that lived in Pompeii on display as well.  For example here is a weight measure and an oil lamp:

Here is a hairpin and a comb that was commonly used by Roman women:

There was also plenty of jewelery on display as well that showed to historians that the Romans were fond of high end jewelery especially those made of gold:

Besides having fireplaces to warm their homes with, the Romans also had these small portable heaters that would have heated charcoal in them to provide warmth to areas that did not have a fireplace:

For water the Romans used these containers that actually had a tap on the bottom of it where the water passed through a charcoal filter to purify it:

Some of the Roman homes even had indoor plumbing where water was brought into the homes threw a series of pipes to fill these containers:

However, what the Romans did not realize is the dangers of lead poisoning.  Many of the pipes used to bring water to these homes were contaminated with lead.  The charcoal filters used in their water dispensers would not have removed the lead from the water.  Thus it is likely that the Romans that used these pipes experienced lead poisoning.

Here is an example of a pot and skillet that would have been commonly found in Roman kitchens:

Here is an example of jugs and bowls that would have been used:

These two clay ovens are what the Romans in Pompeii would have used by baking:

Here is an example of bread that was carbonized by the eruption that would have been cooked in these clay ovens:

Besides the farmed and baked food items on sale at the local marketplace, Pompeii also had a fishing industry that would have provided plenty of seafood for the population as well:

Besides the items on display the museum also had people dressed up in Roman garb explaining to visitors how these items would have been used by the Romans all those years ago:

Here are coins that the Romans were using at the time that had the heads of various key government officials such as the Emperor on them.  They also chronicled great events and allowed the central government to spread news of these events and who was in charge across the Empire by these coins:

Like other major cities in Rome, Pompeii also had a coliseum that the Empire’s famed gladiators would have done battle in to the amusement of the public:

Another part of Roman society shown at the exhibition was their spiritual beliefs.  There was an entire section devoted to describing the various Roman Gods complete with some of the artwork found in Roman temples and homes of these various Gods:

The exhibit also showed how wealthy Romans had a practice of making grave memorials with the likeness of the deceased:

The artists who made these busts to mark these graves were highly skilled:

The final part of the exhibit was the part that recreated some of the haunting scenes of bones and carbonized bodies that were found when Pompeii was dug up by archaeologists:

These recreations are made from plasters, but are supposed to faithfully recreate the actual carbonized figures found in Pompeii such as this man who died while lying on some stairs:

Here is recreation of a couple that died in each others arms as they were overwhelmed by the toxic gases and ash coming from Mt. Vesuvius:

There was many more recreations to see, but like I said before this part of the exhibit is quite haunting and the final thing you see before finishing the exhibit.  Definitely a sober reminder of the tragedy and loss of life the people of Pompeii suffered when Mt. Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago.

Conclusion

All in all my family and I had a great time checking out the exhibit.  It was highly educational and fascinating to see.  For those who have membership to the museum the cost is only $12 a ticket, for non-members the cost is $26 which may be steep for some.  Considering that cost it may make sense to just buy a membership if you plan to visit the museum again.  For those who like history especially Roman history this exhibit should not be missed even if it is a bit pricey.