The Queen City is one of only four in the nation to get this exhibit; it’s scheduled to be here through Aug. 12 and this is the only stop in the Midwest. It’s most recently been at the Museum of Science in Boston; before that it was featured in Discovery Times Square in New York. The show travels to Denver after Cincinnati, then makes its way back to Italy.
A eerily effective video simulation captures the fateful day in A.D. 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying everything in its path within 24 hours. The town of 20,000 remained covered for more than 1,700 years. The site was rediscovered in the 1700s.
You’ll learn that at the peak of the eruption, magma, ash and gas were released from the volcano at a rate of 100,000 tons every second, traveling upwards at the speed of a jet plane to reach 33 kilometers in height — 3.5 times the height of Mount Everest.
You’ll watch the incredible pyroclastic surge, the extremely hot and fast-moving mixture of volcanic material made up of deadly gasses and ash.
Heartbreaking life-size body casts capture the victims of Pompeii in exactly the positions they assumed when they realized their end was nearing. When archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli excavated the city between 1860 and 1875, he discovered that the bodies of people and animals smothered by ash disintegrated, leaving cavities in the hardened ash. Fiorelli and his team poured liquid plaster into these voids, creating unbelievable casts.
In Roman times, the city of Pompeii was best known as a vacation resort for Roman nobility. On display are wall-sized frescos, intricate gold jewelry, marble and bronze statues, coins. There are models of homes and furniture, daily objects including frying pans and fish hooks, merchants’ scales and oil lamps.
You’ll be surprised to see there was even graffiti in ancient times. There’s a carbonized loaf of bread left exactly as its owner baked it. And you’ll learn some weird facts: in order to bleach their patrons’ clothing, the professional cleaners placed large containers outside their establishments with citizens encouraged to relieve themselves in the jugs. Turns out the urine served as a natural ammonia.
It turns out that the same ash and debris that destroyed the city was also responsible for ensuring its preservation.
There’s a strong local connection to Pompeii: Professor Steven Ellis of the University of Cincinnati is leading a UC team that has been digging at the site. As part of the exhibit, you’ll see a film of the group at work.
“Our team has been going there every summer for the past seven years,” explains Ellis. “What visitors to this exhibit will find is that there’s a sense of sophistication and a range of objects that speak to the livelihoods of the Pompeiians.”
Those professions ranged from farmers and shopkeepers to restaurant owners. Because the lower classes in Pompeii had no kitchens in their homes, they apparently ate out a lot.
A series of short films included in the exhibit provide more background information on Pompeii, and there’s also an audio tour available for an extra charge.
There’s an educational room for kids at the end of the tour. They’ll learn why a volcano erupts, and how mosaics are created. The specialty gift shop sells items ranging from jewelry replicas and stained glass to books and gladiator shields and helmets.
Doug McDonald, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center, says the museum has planned a number of activities and programs to enhance the special exhibit — gallery discussions, brown bag lectures, a Pompeii book club. He says it’s rare for an ancient city to be found intact.
The Pompeii exhibit, he says, captures the city “at the exact moment of the eruption. It’s a glimpse of a culture sealed into that day and that time.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or MMoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.
HOW TO GO
WHAT: A Day in Pompeii
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
TICKETS: $19.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors ages 60 and up, and $12.50 for children ages 3-12. Show your Kroger receipt and receive $3 off regular-priced tickets to the exhibition.
OTHER PROGRAMMING: Gallery talks from 1-3 p.m. every Saturday through May 26. Steven Ellis will speak on May 17. An Omnimax film, “Hiddden Hawaii: born from Volcanoes” shows another perspective of volcanoes and can be seems for an additional $2.50 to $3.50 charge.
FOR MORE INFO: Visit cincymuseum.org or call (513) 287-7021
FAST FACTS
Artifacts include wall-sized frescos, gold jewelry, marble and bronze statuary, gold coins and other dazzling examples of ancient Roman artistry. Other artifacts from frying pans, fishhooks, and merchants' scales to ceramics, oil lamps, graffiti stones and carbonized bread capture aspects of daily life. Body casts of the victims eerily preserved in their final moments are a highlight of the exhibition.
At interactive stations, visitors explore the geology of volcanoes, the art of mosaics, the science of archaeology and ancient construction techniques. Additional Museum Center programming enchances the Pompeii experience.
Pompeii's archaeological treasures rarely leave Italy, and this national touring exhibit marks the first time that these rare treasures will come to the region. Cincinnati Museum Center is the only stop in the Midwest. A Day in Pompeii has been on display at Discovery Times Square in New York where it opened in March 2011, it opened at the Museum of Science in Boston in October 2011 and will continue to Denver Museum of Nature & Science after leaving Cincinnati.
Source: Cincinnati Museum Center
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