An immersive video projection introduces visitors to the "Pompeii" exhibition. (Photo courtesy Science Museum of Virginia)
If during this vacation season you can’t get to Pompeii in Italy, you can stride under the great John Russell Pope dome of the Science Museum of Virginia for “Pompeii: The Immortal City," through Sept. 3, and peer through time into a flash-frozen moment: the 79 A.D. destruction of the city by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
You can gaze upon a preserved — carbonized — loaf of bread. One oven in an excavated bakery held 81 loaves. That burnt bread rose on the night before or the morning of the cataclysm, and at 2,000 years old, it’s a reminder of the immediacy of that horrific moment.
“This exhibit is about how people lived,” says Jennifer Guild, the Science Museum’s manager of communications and curiosity. “It isn’t about volcanoes.”
A video introduction provides a portal to set the scene, that of a bustling resort and commercial center on the Bay of Naples, where life continued on as it does even today in metropolitan locales. The busy working-class residents lined up at frescoed L-shaped counters of to-go snack bars called “thermopolia."
But the serving of the daily special came to an abrupt halt.
Museum Deputy Director Elizabeth Voelkel experienced the exhibit during a 2017 showing in Brussels, Belgium. “She came back and said, ‘We have to do this,’ ” recalls Guild. “This exhibition fits exactly into our mission.” In addition, the new exhibition space is well-suited for these big traveling presentations, and “Pompeii” is the third of its kind here. Many of the artifacts haven’t been seen before in this country.
If you don’t know much about Pompeii, except that it was buried for hundreds of years and forgotten until discovered by accident, you’ll come away with some intriguing facts.
One: An earthquake rocked and damaged Pompeii’s downtown in 62 A.D., 16 years before Vesuvius blew — a direct connection to the eventual eruption. The big tumble down created a building boom in Pompeii, as evidenced by a reconstructed crane on display.
Two: In a demonstration of the game of telephone, through historical sources, the generally accepted time of year for Pompeii’s demise is probably wrong. I’ll let you see that one for yourself.
Three: Though the Romans knew about hydraulics, indoor plumbing and interior heating, they weren’t as good about waste removal. Science Museum Director of Playful Learning and Inquiry Timshel Purdum points to raised stones in the street for pedestrians to walk above the … effluvia.
Four: Vesuvius gave violent coming attractions to the approximate 12,000 Pompeiians (about the population of today's Fan District) in the day before it exploded. Many residents must’ve taken the hint and escaped, but how many remains unknown. Falling rock blocked exits, and roads would’ve within a few hours become impassable. The quickest way out then became wooden watercraft.
Visitors to the "Pompeii" exhibition can view two body casts created from some of the nearly 1,150 body imprint outlines unearthed since formal Pompeii excavations began in the 18th century. (Photo courtesy Science Museum of Virginia)
The 2,000 casualties are calculated from bodies found in the throes of death (including a dog and a boar) preserved within the voids of ash and mud that buried them. A third of the city’s 165 acres remains underground.
Complementing the exhibit is a series of free and open Wednesday Lunch Break Science talks on the Pompeii story, noon to 1 p.m. through August 28. On June 26, it’s “All About Pompeiian Graffiti” with Erika Zimmerman, professor at the University of Richmond of Classical Studies & Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies.
If you think you see resemblances between architecture in Richmond and that of the temples and public structures of Pompeii, you’re right, and on July 17, Bryan Clark Green, director of historic preservation for Commonwealth Architects, will speak about “Roman and Greek Classical Influences on Virginia Architecture.” The full roster of events is here.
Vesuvius remains an active volcano.
