"The Victims of Vesuvius" Top 5 Page for this destination Victims Tip by Evenith666

Favorite thing: Over the cobbled streets, the buildings, the forum, and even vesuvius itself, the first thing most people think of is the dead bodies. Everywhere in Pompeii there are the plaster casts of the bodies of the victims of the eruption.
Created by italian Archeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli, the plaster casts give a horryfying insight into the last seconds of the lives of the Pompeiian Townsfolk. As the ash fell on Pompeii, it covered the still living bodies of the Townsfolk. The people of Pompeii would have then suffocated to death in their Ash coffins. As more and more Ash fell, the weight would have compacted the Ash around the bodies and made it solid. Long after the people had died and rotted, the Ash was left in the exact shape of the people. Upon discovering these cavities in the Ash, Giuseppe Fiorelli injected Plaster into them, and when it had set, set about on the hard task of shipping away the ash, leaving the plaster cast behind. The resulting 'statues' thus show the people of pompeii at the exact moment of their death. Many have their hands over their mouth, and many are seen on the ground, reaching out for some unknown saviour.
They show the unrelenting mercylessness of nature, as you can see men, women, children, and even pets, including a dog, which died still tied up by its lead.

Fondest memory: I will never forget these bodies, as even though the plaster is rough, and the finer detail is gone, you can still see the absaloute horror on some of the faces, and the sorrow on those that had given up, and were waiting to die.