THE POMPEII HISTORY
The 2000-years old findings of the Pompeii disaster are about arriving to Kraków
The Archaeological Museum in Kraków is featuring a grand exhibition displaying a unique assembly of artefacts of perhaps the most dramatic historical event the ancient Roman culture endured, the Pompeii catastrophe. These original treasures from the collection of the MAN National Archeological Museum of Naples are to be seen in Poland for the first time.
The exhibition allows insight into the moments of the fateful event, the secrets of both Pompeii and the Roman Empire and the everyday life of its people.
1940 years have gone past since the eruption of the Vesuvius levelled the city of Pompeii together with its entire population. Lava had blocked the crater of the volcano for more than 4,000 years but it rose from its slumber on a fateful August day in 79 A.D. and wreaked deadly havoc. In a matter of several days Pompeii was covered in 7-8 metres of ash and an unceasing rain of stones the size of peas and nuts buried the whole city.
The objects to be seen are worth billions and survived the eruption of the Vesuvius two millennia ago by being conserved underneath the ash. Incredible it may sound, the catastrophic event remained undetected for over 1,500 years and its discovery was the result of mere chance. The wall ruins of ancient Pompeii were unearthed in the 16th century while the regulation of the Sarno River was underway. Only later in 1748 did official excavations start under the supervision of the Spanish engineer Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre and the archaeological discovery of the “forgotten city” has been going on ever since, for over 270 years.
In our region it was the Móra Ferenc Museum in Szeged, Hungary, that debuted a highly successful exhibition of the Pompeii artefacts in 2016. As a result of the collaboration between Kraków and Szeged, a unique selection of 100 original artefacts of the MAN National Archeological Museum of Naples will be seen at this special exhibition.
The transportation of these valuable artefacts requires a very strictly controlled environment. The collection will travel 1,800 km in special double-walled crates and boxes in air-conditioned vehicles from Naples all along to Krakow at the end of September. At their destination the objects will be placed in secured exhibition cases under the supervision of professional Italian restorers. The exhibited treasures introduce visitors to the world of the blooming Pompeii, priceless frescos, statues, the tangible heritage of the city’s exuberant cultural and scientific life, the world of gladiators, the environment in which everyday people lived in antiquity, their customs, their tool, such intimate details as the blossoming gardens of their houses or the simplicity of their brothels. The exhibition summons the tragedy that destroyed the city and its people and displays its ruins, which remain impressive, even as fragments of a long gone life.
The Pompeii exhibition is open to the general public from 5th October till 8th March 2020 every day (with extended opening hours) between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the Archaeological Museum in Kraków.
