Pompeii exhibition reveals the last gasp of buried city

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A new exhibition from Italy at New York’s Discovery Times Square captures the last gasp of the ancient city of Pompeii before it was buried under volcanic ash, mud and rock when Mount Vesuvius erupted 2,000 years ago.

Copies of body casts that researchers made from the skeletal remains of residents buried alive are an eerie part of the exhibit — a crouching man covers his mouth, a chained dog appears contorted, a family of four huddle together.

A short film recreates what Pompeians might have felt as they tried to escape. The museum’s floor vibrates as the volcano’s furor grows; a movie screen rises and a double door opens to reveal a funereal scene of 20 “bodies” hardened in poses from their final moments.

Pompeii existed for 700 years before it was snuffed out in just 24 hours.

“Pompeii The Exhibit: Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius” also chronicles life in the vibrant mercantile city before and after Vesuvius erupted. Colorful room and garden frescoes, mosaic floors, pottery and gold jewelry are among the artifacts featured.

On Aug. 24, 79 A.D., Vesuvius began spewing ash, mud and noxious gases without warning. A 12-mile black cloud from the volcano blocked out the sun.

Harris said Pompeii was forgotten for 16 centuries — until the mid-18th century when a farmer digging a well struck the ruin.

The most dramatic and unsettling part of the exhibition are the copies of body casts. Volcanic ash encapsulated the bodies at Pompeii. After the bodies decomposed, skeletal cavities remained. Liquid plaster could be poured into the cavity and capture the person’s dimensions, posture and expression once the plaster solidified, as if creating a statue.