Ancient City of Pompeii

By Ayush Khare, 8 years, San Ramon California USA

Pompeii is an ancient city in Italy that is at least two thousand years old. It is famous for its ruins. It was a cultural heritage for the architecture and artefacts used by people at that time. 

Pompeii was buried by the big volcanic eruption that had happened in 79 A.D. at Mount Vesuvius. It erupted during midday on August 24th. Nearby communities got destroyed. The eruption continued for two days. The majority of all the people in Pompeii survived the destructive eruption. But, many of them died due to extreme heat. Few died because they were run over by lava from the volcano. Many animals died as well. Therefore, Pompeii was nicknamed as the city of the dead as so many people died during that eruption.

The city was discovered in the form of ruins in 1748 by a man named Domenico Fontana. The present-day Pompeii has nicely preserved the ruins. The ruins unveil interesting artefacts, houses, and buildings built by the people of Pompeii. One of the artefacts left behind by the people of Pompeii was the gladiator gear. Ruins also reveal the jewellery used by their people. One can see the buildings and statues such as an Apollo statue there. They had built toilets with a row of holes. They created kitchens which are almost similar to the modern kitchen. They also made use of cooking pots and pans in their kitchen.

Another interesting fact about Pompeii was that it was built by the Oscan people. People in Pompeii spoke languages such as Oscan, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, etc. While Mount Vesuvius was erupting, it caused a small tsunami. Later in 2019, some archaeologist found an old drinking 
den with pictures of gladiators fighting and realistic wounds.
I have visited Pompeii recently with my family and it was really fun. I saw that Mount Vesuvius surrounds the city. Don’t worry, the volcano wasn’t erupting at that time!! I was excited to see how their houses, bathrooms, and toilets looked like. I noticed that they had built a bridge over the holes dug for toilets so that anyone doesn’t step on those. It was really steep! We had to walk carefully so that we don’t fall. I even discovered what they used for cooking. I dropped by a well, which I think, was the source of water for the people in Pompeii. After that, we stopped by a tiny creek that had no water. I suppose that was the place where they used to take their bath. After that, we glanced at the burnt houses. We found out some stairs in their houses. We observed a large stadium where they used to have concerts and gladiator sports.

As one can see, Pompeii is an interesting place to visit and witness. Its ruins are nicely preserved and it’s fascinating to the eye. I truly hope and pray that Mount Vesuvius doesn’t erupt and ruin the cities again!!