1 00:00:05,166 --> 00:00:06,433 [ Explosion ] 2 00:00:06,433 --> 00:00:07,966 -Pompeii -- a place 3 00:00:07,966 --> 00:00:11,633 whose very name conjures images of disaster. 4 00:00:11,633 --> 00:00:14,900 Buried by a catastrophic volcanic eruption 5 00:00:14,900 --> 00:00:17,300 almost 2,000 years ago, 6 00:00:17,300 --> 00:00:19,033 this ancient Roman city 7 00:00:19,033 --> 00:00:21,666 is seared into our collective memory -- 8 00:00:21,666 --> 00:00:25,500 a symbol of the fragility of life itself. 9 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:29,300 Plaster casts famously preserve the final moments 10 00:00:29,300 --> 00:00:31,966 of countless victims. 11 00:00:31,966 --> 00:00:34,900 But what was life like in the streets of ancient Pompeii 12 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:37,300 before the eruption? 13 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:38,766 Past excavations focused 14 00:00:38,766 --> 00:00:41,366 on plucking valuable artifacts from the site, 15 00:00:41,366 --> 00:00:43,300 rather than uncovering the stories 16 00:00:43,300 --> 00:00:46,066 of citizens and the enslaved. 17 00:00:46,066 --> 00:00:49,666 It's been decades since the last comprehensive excavation, 18 00:00:49,666 --> 00:00:54,600 and a new generation of archeologists is digging in, 19 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,466 laser-focused on capturing a clear picture 20 00:00:57,466 --> 00:01:01,966 of how people lived in Pompeii's final days and hours, 21 00:01:01,966 --> 00:01:05,033 and finding household objects that remind us 22 00:01:05,033 --> 00:01:08,433 how much we have in common with the residents of Pompeii. 23 00:01:08,433 --> 00:01:12,133 -It's a pair of tweezers. -They're the same as ours. 24 00:01:12,133 --> 00:01:15,266 -Yes, but much larger. 25 00:01:15,266 --> 00:01:19,066 -The excavations have already revealed dazzling works of art 26 00:01:19,066 --> 00:01:22,633 unseen by human eyes for millennia. 27 00:01:22,633 --> 00:01:25,633 -Our main interest is not ancient art 28 00:01:25,633 --> 00:01:29,133 but the lifeworld of these people. 29 00:01:29,133 --> 00:01:32,133 -They have uncovered a strikingly modern city, 30 00:01:32,133 --> 00:01:33,966 complete with fast food 31 00:01:33,966 --> 00:01:35,866 and a vehicle that some have called 32 00:01:35,866 --> 00:01:38,333 "the Lamborghini of the ancient world." 33 00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:51,266 "Secrets of the Dead" was made possible in part by 34 00:01:51,266 --> 00:01:54,700 contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. 35 00:02:00,866 --> 00:02:03,066 -Italian archaeologists are undertaking 36 00:02:03,066 --> 00:02:08,166 the first major excavations in Pompeii since the 1950s, 37 00:02:08,166 --> 00:02:12,100 and the first to use modern scientific techniques. 38 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:17,633 ♪♪ 39 00:02:17,633 --> 00:02:21,033 When the excavation began in 2018, 40 00:02:21,033 --> 00:02:23,200 Massimo Ossana was the director 41 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,466 of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, 42 00:02:25,466 --> 00:02:30,400 and is now the director general of all Italian state museums. 43 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,500 -What fascinates me about archeology is 44 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:34,600 that it can lead us to rewrite history. 45 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,800 -In the initial excavations, the team unearthed 46 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,700 not just rooms and houses 47 00:02:39,700 --> 00:02:43,566 but an entire street and a city square. 48 00:02:43,566 --> 00:02:46,400 Laser scans documented their progress 49 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,200 and created accurate 3-D imagery of the neighborhood. 50 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,566 They found evidence of construction work -- 51 00:02:52,566 --> 00:02:55,433 a common sight in 1st-century Pompeii, 52 00:02:55,433 --> 00:02:58,600 which had been heavily damaged by a series of earthquakes 53 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,633 in the years before the eruption. 54 00:03:00,633 --> 00:03:04,266 -People were working, repairing water pipes, 55 00:03:04,266 --> 00:03:07,233 renovating houses, rebuilding streets. 56 00:03:07,233 --> 00:03:12,200 All of that helps us erase the image of a perfect city 57 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,733 where everything was intact at the time of the eruption. 58 00:03:16,733 --> 00:03:21,033 -In those early excavations, archaeologists even uncovered 59 00:03:21,033 --> 00:03:23,333 evidence about the date of the disaster, 60 00:03:23,333 --> 00:03:25,633 which has long been recorded in the history books 61 00:03:25,633 --> 00:03:29,200 as August 24th of the year 79 A.D. 62 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,800 Scrawled in charcoal on the wall of a house, 63 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,433 they found a date that had apparently just been written 64 00:03:35,433 --> 00:03:38,033 there in the days before the eruption. 65 00:03:38,033 --> 00:03:40,866 Surprisingly, it corresponds to October 66 00:03:40,866 --> 00:03:42,333 on the Roman calendar -- 67 00:03:42,333 --> 00:03:45,466 two months after the long-accepted August date. 68 00:03:45,466 --> 00:03:49,066 -We must consider that the date of August 24th, 69 00:03:49,066 --> 00:03:51,600 which I've always considered accurate until today, 70 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,566 is no longer valid. 71 00:03:53,566 --> 00:03:56,700 -If the disaster did not happen in the heat of summer, 72 00:03:56,700 --> 00:03:59,933 but rather the cool autumn of that same year, 73 00:03:59,933 --> 00:04:03,466 new excavations might turn up further evidence. 74 00:04:03,466 --> 00:04:06,400 Intrigued by this and the other discoveries 75 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,666 made in the initial phase of the project, 76 00:04:08,666 --> 00:04:11,066 the new site director hopes to fill in 77 00:04:11,066 --> 00:04:14,866 even more of the picture of life in Pompeii's final days. 78 00:04:14,866 --> 00:04:18,266 -This is a project that is possible 79 00:04:18,266 --> 00:04:24,300 only thanks to a broad range of professional collaborators, 80 00:04:24,300 --> 00:04:28,766 not only archeologists but also restorators, 81 00:04:28,766 --> 00:04:31,600 architects, 82 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,400 engineers. 83 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,933 That's really where it gets interesting, 84 00:04:36,933 --> 00:04:41,033 because it brings us a bit closer to a vision 85 00:04:41,033 --> 00:04:44,266 of how life was here 2,000 years ago. 86 00:04:44,266 --> 00:04:47,133 -Along a newly excavated street, 87 00:04:47,133 --> 00:04:49,633 the horrific final hours of Pompeii 88 00:04:49,633 --> 00:04:52,166 are thrown into sharp relief. 89 00:04:52,166 --> 00:04:54,166 Undisturbed since it was deposited, 90 00:04:54,166 --> 00:04:56,233 nearly 2,000 years ago, 91 00:04:56,233 --> 00:04:59,533 a clear stratigraphy of layered volcanic material 92 00:04:59,533 --> 00:05:02,666 measures up to 16 feet thick. 93 00:05:02,666 --> 00:05:04,800 If the eruption of Mount Vesuvius 94 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:09,900 was a disaster in two acts, this layer captures the first. 95 00:05:09,900 --> 00:05:13,833 It began with a relentless rain of lightweight stone, 96 00:05:13,833 --> 00:05:17,500 known as pumice or lapilli, ejected from the volcano. 97 00:05:17,500 --> 00:05:20,566 -In Pompeii, it was about 15 centimeters per hour. 98 00:05:20,566 --> 00:05:26,900 That means, one hour later, there were 15, then 30, 99 00:05:26,900 --> 00:05:30,733 and after 4 hours, 60 centimeters, and so on. 100 00:05:34,233 --> 00:05:36,733 -Imagine standing in these streets 101 00:05:36,733 --> 00:05:39,033 as volcanic rock fell from the sky 102 00:05:39,033 --> 00:05:42,133 at a rate of 15 centimeters per hour. 103 00:05:44,633 --> 00:05:49,033 A relentless hailstorm of pumice that began at 1:00 p.m. 104 00:05:49,033 --> 00:05:54,033 and continued until 6:00 a.m. the next morning. 105 00:05:54,033 --> 00:05:57,400 When the pumice finally stopped falling, 106 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,400 doors were blocked, and the streets were filled 107 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:03,233 to the height of second-story windows. 108 00:06:05,366 --> 00:06:08,333 Many roofs had collapsed from the weight of the stones. 109 00:06:08,333 --> 00:06:10,266 [ Stones clattering ] 110 00:06:10,266 --> 00:06:12,866 It may have seemed the worst was over. 111 00:06:12,866 --> 00:06:16,033 But Vesuvius had another horror in store. 112 00:06:16,033 --> 00:06:19,533 By the time the shower of stone ended, 113 00:06:19,533 --> 00:06:21,533 the eruption column may have towered 114 00:06:21,533 --> 00:06:24,000 20 miles above the crater. 115 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,100 The ash cloud became so dense 116 00:06:26,100 --> 00:06:28,633 that it began to collapse in on itself. 117 00:06:28,633 --> 00:06:32,300 A pyroclastic flow of gases, rock, and ash 118 00:06:32,300 --> 00:06:34,300 rushed down toward the city. 119 00:06:34,300 --> 00:06:35,400 [ Rumbling ] 120 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,200 These superheated landslides 121 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,233 can travel at more than 60 miles per hour. 122 00:06:40,233 --> 00:06:44,033 The first to hit Pompeii did minimal damage. 123 00:06:44,033 --> 00:06:47,566 But recent studies suggest a second wave reached the city, 124 00:06:47,566 --> 00:06:51,633 bringing temperatures in excess of 200 degrees Fahrenheit, 125 00:06:51,633 --> 00:06:56,900 engulfing Pompeii in 15 minutes of hell on earth. 126 00:06:56,900 --> 00:07:01,200 Buildings were inundated by hot ash and volcanic glass. 127 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,866 Many residents who had failed to evacuate suffocated, 128 00:07:04,866 --> 00:07:09,166 their lungs filled with the equivalent of hot, thick cement. 129 00:07:09,166 --> 00:07:12,966 The dead were encased in a deep layer of ash, 130 00:07:12,966 --> 00:07:15,233 which later hardened around them. 131 00:07:15,233 --> 00:07:19,000 As each body naturally decayed, what was left was 132 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,466 a skeleton surrounded by a cavity in the hardened ash -- 133 00:07:22,466 --> 00:07:26,933 a near-perfect mold of the 2,000-year-old body itself. 134 00:07:26,933 --> 00:07:29,066 The archeologists at Pompeii 135 00:07:29,066 --> 00:07:31,433 are able to fill these molds with plaster 136 00:07:31,433 --> 00:07:34,900 to create three-dimensional casts of the victims, 137 00:07:34,900 --> 00:07:36,433 just as they looked 138 00:07:36,433 --> 00:07:39,700 when they succumbed to the fury of Mount Vesuvius. 139 00:07:39,700 --> 00:07:43,466 -Here we can see the power of the pyroclastic flow. 140 00:07:43,466 --> 00:07:46,166 Like a wave or a river, 141 00:07:46,166 --> 00:07:50,166 it found openings and entered this house. 142 00:07:50,166 --> 00:07:52,766 At one point, the pyroclastic flow 143 00:07:52,766 --> 00:07:54,933 broke the walls of the Room of the Skeletons, 144 00:07:54,933 --> 00:07:57,766 in which we are now. 145 00:07:57,766 --> 00:07:59,966 -Almost 2,000 years later, 146 00:07:59,966 --> 00:08:03,100 the dead are still emerging from the ash. 147 00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:05,200 -But look at this. This is interesting. 148 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,100 -There are lapilli. -Yes, so it was probably 149 00:08:09,100 --> 00:08:12,133 the collapse of the roof that crushed them. 150 00:08:12,133 --> 00:08:13,700 -Everything is possible. 151 00:08:17,900 --> 00:08:19,633 -To get a full picture of life 152 00:08:19,633 --> 00:08:22,166 across the ancient social spectrum, 153 00:08:22,166 --> 00:08:25,566 the team has been drawn to a partially-excavated complex 154 00:08:25,566 --> 00:08:29,233 in a suburb 700 yards north of Pompeii. 155 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,233 In 2014, the Italian national police, the carabinieri, 156 00:08:36,233 --> 00:08:38,466 discovered that looters had been tunneling 157 00:08:38,466 --> 00:08:43,300 into this restricted area to steal precious artifacts. 158 00:08:43,300 --> 00:08:48,400 In 2017, the ongoing police investigation 159 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:52,833 led archaeologists to a room in a once-grand villa. 160 00:08:52,833 --> 00:08:57,333 -[ Speaking Italian ] 161 00:08:57,333 --> 00:08:59,433 -They've worked very hard the last few years, 162 00:08:59,433 --> 00:09:03,600 using tunnels to get to our excavation site. 163 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,333 And we can clearly see all of those tunnels. 164 00:09:06,333 --> 00:09:09,733 -The tunnels, some as long as 200 feet, 165 00:09:09,733 --> 00:09:12,000 led from inside present-day homes 166 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,300 built atop the buried ruins. 167 00:09:14,300 --> 00:09:16,700 At night, using lanterns and lamps, 168 00:09:16,700 --> 00:09:18,566 the looters broke through walls, 169 00:09:18,566 --> 00:09:21,700 looking for valuable objects to sell on the black market. 170 00:09:21,700 --> 00:09:25,333 -The police had inspected all the tunnels 171 00:09:25,333 --> 00:09:27,466 and found damaged frescoes, 172 00:09:27,466 --> 00:09:33,266 as well as fragments of objects in the tunnels. 173 00:09:33,266 --> 00:09:35,400 There's no doubt that there was looting here. 174 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,533 They tried to remove wall paintings. 175 00:09:39,533 --> 00:09:42,633 -Working closely with police and local prosecutors, 176 00:09:42,633 --> 00:09:44,266 archeologists began 177 00:09:44,266 --> 00:09:47,733 the careful process of excavating the site. 178 00:09:47,733 --> 00:09:51,333 In December 2018, 179 00:09:51,333 --> 00:09:54,166 after nearly a year of painstaking work, 180 00:09:54,166 --> 00:09:57,266 they revealed a startling discovery. 181 00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:03,500 -This room was the stable of a large villa. 182 00:10:03,500 --> 00:10:07,866 -Using the technique developed more than 150 years ago 183 00:10:07,866 --> 00:10:11,833 by Pompeii's then-director of excavations, Giuseppe Fiorelli, 184 00:10:11,833 --> 00:10:16,500 the team filled a void in the ash layer with plaster, 185 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:20,033 and made a perfect cast of a horse. 186 00:10:22,433 --> 00:10:25,200 -We were able to create a mold of the first horse. 187 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,533 Fortunately, this horse remained intact, 188 00:10:29,533 --> 00:10:34,066 but the other one was probably broken up by these tunnels. 189 00:10:36,366 --> 00:10:38,766 -The team was still able to make a partial cast 190 00:10:38,766 --> 00:10:41,700 of the second horse, and uncovered evidence 191 00:10:41,700 --> 00:10:44,900 that the horses were bridled and saddled. 192 00:10:44,900 --> 00:10:49,866 -At the height of the eruption, it seems they may have been 193 00:10:49,866 --> 00:10:52,466 saddled up for flight and unable to leave. 194 00:10:55,066 --> 00:10:57,566 Under the other horse, it looks like a bag 195 00:10:57,566 --> 00:10:59,266 for whatever the animal was carrying, 196 00:10:59,266 --> 00:11:03,766 or maybe it had been loaded in preparation for escaping. 197 00:11:06,433 --> 00:11:07,933 However, they couldn't escape, 198 00:11:07,933 --> 00:11:10,433 because the pyroclastic flow was much quicker. 199 00:11:12,633 --> 00:11:14,833 [ Horse neighs ] 200 00:11:16,666 --> 00:11:18,400 -Over the next two years, 201 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,866 the team continued to excavate the stable. 202 00:11:28,133 --> 00:11:30,200 The villa where the horses were found 203 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:31,833 is located in what was once 204 00:11:31,833 --> 00:11:35,566 Pompeii's prime agricultural land. 205 00:11:38,366 --> 00:11:41,066 Large vineyards and farm complexes 206 00:11:41,066 --> 00:11:43,800 served as second homes for the city's elite. 207 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,700 And many had wine cellars and presses on site. 208 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,800 It was a city flowing with wine. 209 00:11:55,833 --> 00:11:58,133 One of the best preserved of these homes 210 00:11:58,133 --> 00:12:00,766 is the Villa of the Mysteries, 211 00:12:00,766 --> 00:12:02,666 with its replica wine press 212 00:12:02,666 --> 00:12:05,333 and its signature frescoes. 213 00:12:05,333 --> 00:12:09,133 To modern archeologists, these large villas -- 214 00:12:09,133 --> 00:12:11,866 owned by the rich, worked by the poor -- 215 00:12:11,866 --> 00:12:14,433 are potential treasure troves of information 216 00:12:14,433 --> 00:12:16,833 about life in Pompeii. 217 00:12:16,833 --> 00:12:20,033 December 2020 -- 218 00:12:20,033 --> 00:12:22,033 at the villa where the horses were found, 219 00:12:22,033 --> 00:12:27,033 the team excavates an area just outside the stable door. 220 00:12:27,033 --> 00:12:30,633 After making plaster casts of collapsed roof beams, 221 00:12:30,633 --> 00:12:34,733 they dig down further, reaching a depth of 20 feet. 222 00:12:34,733 --> 00:12:39,466 A large object begins to emerge from the ash. 223 00:12:39,466 --> 00:12:44,466 ♪♪ 224 00:12:44,466 --> 00:12:48,066 Archeologists can tell it's a significant artifact. 225 00:12:48,066 --> 00:12:51,133 But what exactly have they found? 226 00:12:53,633 --> 00:12:56,400 Scientists study laser scans 227 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,766 that capture the outline of the metal object. 228 00:12:59,766 --> 00:13:05,900 ♪♪ 229 00:13:05,900 --> 00:13:08,900 Eventually, a theory emerges. 230 00:13:11,233 --> 00:13:14,333 -Some elements are being uncovered 231 00:13:14,333 --> 00:13:18,266 that lead us to believe this is a two-wheeled chariot. 232 00:13:18,266 --> 00:13:21,766 -The term "chariot" immediately calls to mind 233 00:13:21,766 --> 00:13:24,733 the two-wheeled carts used in both battle 234 00:13:24,733 --> 00:13:28,833 and the heart-pounding races that thrilled the Roman world. 235 00:13:28,833 --> 00:13:31,400 These wheeled platforms 236 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,433 were usually pulled by teams of four horses. 237 00:13:34,433 --> 00:13:38,033 Or perhaps what archeologists have uncovered 238 00:13:38,033 --> 00:13:40,833 is just a humble transport wagon, 239 00:13:40,833 --> 00:13:43,900 like several others found in Pompeii over the years. 240 00:13:43,900 --> 00:13:46,633 -We're really fortunate to have this reconstruction 241 00:13:46,633 --> 00:13:48,033 of a two-wheeled cart 242 00:13:48,033 --> 00:13:50,466 found in the stable of the House of Menander. 243 00:13:50,466 --> 00:13:52,933 You could imagine leaving the bed open like this 244 00:13:52,933 --> 00:13:55,400 and carrying large amounts of foodstuffs -- 245 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,733 of grain, of produce -- from the countryside, 246 00:13:58,733 --> 00:14:01,866 or these large containers of wine, these amphorae. 247 00:14:01,866 --> 00:14:05,666 We should also, perhaps, even imagine this leaving the city. 248 00:14:05,666 --> 00:14:08,066 Instead of full of food, we should think of it 249 00:14:08,066 --> 00:14:11,066 full of the waste of the city, the ash from the baths, 250 00:14:11,066 --> 00:14:13,666 the human and animal waste that collects in the city, 251 00:14:13,666 --> 00:14:16,100 and all manner of broken things that need to get out. 252 00:14:16,100 --> 00:14:22,200 ♪♪ 253 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:26,333 -There are two metal elements -- iron elements. 254 00:14:26,333 --> 00:14:34,600 ♪♪ 255 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,166 -This room is adjacent to a large stable 256 00:14:38,166 --> 00:14:43,266 where the remains of three horses were found in 2018. 257 00:14:43,266 --> 00:14:48,866 ♪♪ 258 00:14:48,866 --> 00:14:51,433 So, this place was most likely used 259 00:14:51,433 --> 00:14:54,633 to park, so to say, a chariot. 260 00:14:54,633 --> 00:14:57,233 And we can identify a portico 261 00:14:57,233 --> 00:15:00,266 which opened up onto an unroofed courtyard. 262 00:15:02,633 --> 00:15:06,433 -Bridled horses, a chariot parked in a portico. 263 00:15:06,433 --> 00:15:08,666 Are these the elements of an ancient attempt 264 00:15:08,666 --> 00:15:11,400 to escape the unfolding disaster? 265 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,266 Whatever type of vehicle this turns out to be, 266 00:15:15,266 --> 00:15:18,000 it was part of what was a vibrant and bustling 267 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,533 urban center before the eruption. 268 00:15:20,533 --> 00:15:24,766 It would have been among an estimated 10,000 carts 269 00:15:24,766 --> 00:15:27,866 and wagons rolling around the city. 270 00:15:27,866 --> 00:15:29,366 -In the streets of Pompeii, 271 00:15:29,366 --> 00:15:31,866 carts were moving constantly up and down the streets, 272 00:15:31,866 --> 00:15:34,633 filling them with the activity of daily life. 273 00:15:34,633 --> 00:15:36,633 -The paved streets still bear 274 00:15:36,633 --> 00:15:39,400 the scars of all those ancient wheels. 275 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,466 Professor Eric Poehler is an expert 276 00:15:42,466 --> 00:15:44,766 at understanding the patterns left behind 277 00:15:44,766 --> 00:15:47,233 by this relentless flow of traffic. 278 00:15:47,233 --> 00:15:50,066 He's discovered that ancient Pompeii had 279 00:15:50,066 --> 00:15:51,766 a very modern solution 280 00:15:51,766 --> 00:15:54,833 to preventing traffic jams on its narrow streets. 281 00:15:54,833 --> 00:15:56,900 -We actually have the evidence for telling us 282 00:15:56,900 --> 00:15:58,833 that there's a one-way system of traffic 283 00:15:58,833 --> 00:16:00,433 here in the ancient city. 284 00:16:00,433 --> 00:16:02,700 At this intersection, we can stop and look 285 00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:05,333 at how the ruts here on one side, 286 00:16:05,333 --> 00:16:09,533 which you can see -- 287 00:16:09,533 --> 00:16:13,033 how the carts were coming along, making this rut, 288 00:16:13,033 --> 00:16:15,466 but also hitting the stepping stone here 289 00:16:15,466 --> 00:16:18,600 and carving down into it, showing us that there's 290 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,266 a strong interaction between the carts and the road. 291 00:16:22,266 --> 00:16:24,500 But look here. 292 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:26,666 This evidence shows us that we can actually see 293 00:16:26,666 --> 00:16:28,866 which direction the cart was moving. 294 00:16:28,866 --> 00:16:32,266 Imagine a giant wheel hitting this stone. 295 00:16:32,266 --> 00:16:34,733 And as it hits the stone, 296 00:16:34,733 --> 00:16:37,566 slides across it, cutting into it, 297 00:16:37,566 --> 00:16:39,700 making a smooth area along the top 298 00:16:39,700 --> 00:16:41,800 and a less-smooth area along the bottom, 299 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,600 until finally it leaves contact with the stone 300 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:46,466 and turns to the right. 301 00:16:46,466 --> 00:16:50,066 This can only happen when carts are coming from behind me. 302 00:16:50,066 --> 00:16:52,666 -With so many animal-drawn vehicles, 303 00:16:52,666 --> 00:16:55,800 many buildings in Pompeii had their own stables, 304 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,133 similar to the one where the new chariot has been found. 305 00:16:59,133 --> 00:17:01,600 -We can see how this leads into a corridor 306 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,566 that takes the cart all the way here into the stable, 307 00:17:04,566 --> 00:17:08,600 where the cart would have been detached from its animals, 308 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,900 and the animals led back into the parts of the rear, 309 00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:15,233 where they could probably be given shade and water. 310 00:17:15,233 --> 00:17:19,266 -Ancient Pompeii was alive with the sound of wagon wheels, 311 00:17:19,266 --> 00:17:23,766 but what details will the newly discovered chariot add 312 00:17:23,766 --> 00:17:27,266 to our picture of life in this ancient city? 313 00:17:27,266 --> 00:17:42,100 ♪♪ 314 00:17:42,100 --> 00:17:45,466 Inch-by-inch, the work continues. 315 00:17:45,466 --> 00:17:58,766 ♪♪ 316 00:17:58,766 --> 00:18:00,933 January 2021 -- 317 00:18:00,933 --> 00:18:03,900 the then-director of the Pompeii Archeological Park 318 00:18:03,900 --> 00:18:06,200 arrives to inspect the progress. 319 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,300 -[ Speaking Italian ] 320 00:18:08,300 --> 00:18:13,333 ♪♪ 321 00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:15,533 -This is not a two-wheel chariot anymore. 322 00:18:15,533 --> 00:18:17,966 -No. Digging deeper, 323 00:18:17,966 --> 00:18:20,633 we have brought to light two more wheels. 324 00:18:20,633 --> 00:18:22,933 -Where is the other wheel? -Here. 325 00:18:26,633 --> 00:18:30,566 -And this is the second one? -Yes, it would seem so. 326 00:18:30,566 --> 00:18:36,066 ♪♪ 327 00:18:36,066 --> 00:18:37,666 -Also on this side. 328 00:18:37,666 --> 00:18:39,633 And all four wheels have the same diameter, 329 00:18:39,633 --> 00:18:42,633 so it's a four-wheel chariot with a decorated back. 330 00:18:45,733 --> 00:18:47,766 Well, they're beautiful. 331 00:18:47,766 --> 00:19:03,300 ♪♪ 332 00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:06,500 So, are there traces of mineralized wood? 333 00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:08,066 Okay, those are the spokes! 334 00:19:10,633 --> 00:19:13,333 -Any wheeled vehicle would be a major find, 335 00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:16,700 but a four-wheeled carriage, heavy with decoration, 336 00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:20,766 promises to tell a previously untold part of Pompeii's story. 337 00:19:22,766 --> 00:19:24,900 -Spectacular. 338 00:19:27,733 --> 00:19:30,000 This looks like an abduction scene. 339 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:40,066 ♪♪ 340 00:19:40,066 --> 00:19:42,866 -The prosecutor in charge of the looting investigation 341 00:19:42,866 --> 00:19:46,133 arrives to survey the historic discovery. 342 00:19:46,133 --> 00:19:49,033 -Marvelous! Marvelous! 343 00:19:49,033 --> 00:19:56,700 ♪♪ 344 00:19:56,700 --> 00:19:59,366 We've been lucky it has not been intercepted by tomb raiders. 345 00:19:59,366 --> 00:20:01,366 We can see their tunnel here. 346 00:20:04,166 --> 00:20:05,966 -After a 60-meter-long tunnel, 347 00:20:05,966 --> 00:20:08,400 they got here and brushed against it. 348 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,766 -The tunnel bends here, so it does not touch the chariot. 349 00:20:12,766 --> 00:20:15,966 They just brushed against it and went along to the other side. 350 00:20:15,966 --> 00:20:19,800 Maybe they wanted to reach the stable 351 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:21,633 as they thought that was the richest part of the house, 352 00:20:21,633 --> 00:20:24,433 where they might find hidden treasures. 353 00:20:24,433 --> 00:20:32,966 ♪♪ 354 00:20:32,966 --> 00:20:36,300 As far as I know, this is unprecedented here in Pompeii. 355 00:20:38,900 --> 00:20:41,600 There hasn't ever been anything similar before. 356 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,533 This chariot is really sumptuous. 357 00:20:46,533 --> 00:20:56,433 ♪♪ 358 00:20:56,433 --> 00:20:58,766 What's more, it matches the harnessed horses 359 00:20:58,766 --> 00:21:01,266 we uncovered next door very well. 360 00:21:01,266 --> 00:21:02,766 Someone might have come here 361 00:21:02,766 --> 00:21:04,800 to try and harness the horses to escape. 362 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,766 Two of them were harnessed and ready. 363 00:21:08,766 --> 00:21:11,566 Or it might be that one of the horses was trying to escape 364 00:21:11,566 --> 00:21:13,733 through one of the openings but didn't manage, 365 00:21:13,733 --> 00:21:16,600 and collapsed just there, in front of the entrance. 366 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:20,600 -Due to the size and complexity of the chariot, 367 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:25,100 archaeologists use every tool at their disposal. 368 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:27,200 Plaster casts capture 369 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:30,633 the impressions left in the ash by decayed wooden elements, 370 00:21:30,633 --> 00:21:34,633 allowing the entire shape and structure to be preserved. 371 00:21:34,633 --> 00:21:37,233 When the site director returns in February, 372 00:21:37,233 --> 00:21:40,400 the chariot is almost fully excavated. 373 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:47,233 ♪♪ 374 00:21:47,233 --> 00:21:49,200 -It's getting more and more difficult. 375 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:52,966 Ooh! Ooh, that's great! 376 00:21:52,966 --> 00:22:00,666 ♪♪ 377 00:22:00,666 --> 00:22:03,666 So, now it's clear enough how it works, isn't it? 378 00:22:03,666 --> 00:22:06,066 This is the boundary of the chariot, 379 00:22:06,066 --> 00:22:07,666 and here it's open. 380 00:22:07,666 --> 00:22:10,600 -The archaeologists have finished uncovering 381 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,233 a series of bronze and tin medallions 382 00:22:13,233 --> 00:22:16,533 decorating the sides and rear of the chariot. 383 00:22:16,533 --> 00:22:20,200 The decorative elements are now visible. 384 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,533 They show ancient gods of love 385 00:22:22,533 --> 00:22:25,733 and figures engaged in erotic scenes. 386 00:22:25,733 --> 00:22:28,233 -She seems to be lying down, 387 00:22:28,233 --> 00:22:32,066 so this might be another erotic scene. 388 00:22:32,066 --> 00:22:34,633 This chariot might have been a marriage chariot, 389 00:22:34,633 --> 00:22:36,433 rather than a war carriage. 390 00:22:38,666 --> 00:22:42,633 -Nothing like this has ever been found in Pompeii. 391 00:22:42,633 --> 00:22:45,100 It appears to be a ceremonial chariot, 392 00:22:45,100 --> 00:22:49,533 or pilentum -- a carriage used by women and in sacred rites. 393 00:22:49,533 --> 00:22:51,366 And this one could have been used 394 00:22:51,366 --> 00:22:54,433 for community festivals or marriage rituals. 395 00:22:54,433 --> 00:22:57,766 -Maybe it was ready to be used. This gives me the creeps. 396 00:22:57,766 --> 00:22:59,466 It's as if everything was ready for a ritual 397 00:22:59,466 --> 00:23:01,633 that never happened. We need to carry on. 398 00:23:01,633 --> 00:23:03,866 There must be more surprises to come. 399 00:23:05,633 --> 00:23:08,066 -Buried for almost 2,000 years, 400 00:23:08,066 --> 00:23:11,233 it will now be preserved for the ages, 401 00:23:11,233 --> 00:23:13,733 adding intricate detail to the understanding 402 00:23:13,733 --> 00:23:16,766 of what life was like for people who lived in Pompeii. 403 00:23:16,766 --> 00:23:18,600 [ Beeping ] 404 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,500 -Even though carts have to have been really prevalent 405 00:23:21,500 --> 00:23:22,833 in the ancient world, there must have been 406 00:23:22,833 --> 00:23:24,600 thousands and thousands of them. 407 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,633 We actually have very few of them recovered from archeology. 408 00:23:27,633 --> 00:23:29,333 And that's because of a simple reason -- 409 00:23:29,333 --> 00:23:32,266 they're completely recyclable. Everything about a cart, 410 00:23:32,266 --> 00:23:35,666 from the iron wheels that can be pounded into other things, 411 00:23:35,666 --> 00:23:37,566 to the wood that the cart is made out of 412 00:23:37,566 --> 00:23:39,533 that can be burned. That's one of the things 413 00:23:39,533 --> 00:23:43,000 that makes even a utilitarian cart very special. 414 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,233 But the new chariot, the new carriage -- 415 00:23:45,233 --> 00:23:46,700 it is even more special 416 00:23:46,700 --> 00:23:49,100 because it's meant to draw your attention. 417 00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,866 It's the Lamborghini of this ancient world. 418 00:23:51,866 --> 00:23:55,333 So, for example, the front wheels pivot 419 00:23:55,333 --> 00:23:59,200 and make it so turning around sharp corners is easier. 420 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,300 They also have the body of the cart narrow in, 421 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:04,433 so the wheels can turn further underneath of it 422 00:24:04,433 --> 00:24:06,600 without hitting the cart itself. 423 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,633 And finally, and really interestingly, 424 00:24:08,633 --> 00:24:12,133 we see that the cart itself is well-prepared 425 00:24:12,133 --> 00:24:14,666 for the comfort of the people riding in it. 426 00:24:14,666 --> 00:24:20,166 -The chariot might have weighed 2,000 pounds when fully loaded. 427 00:24:20,166 --> 00:24:22,066 To make its way through the city, 428 00:24:22,066 --> 00:24:23,666 it would have had to negotiate 429 00:24:23,666 --> 00:24:26,000 the narrow, obstacle-filled streets 430 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,166 atop giant iron wheels. 431 00:24:30,166 --> 00:24:33,566 -We should imagine a cart coming into the city, 432 00:24:33,566 --> 00:24:36,866 rolling up the hill, and sliding its axle 433 00:24:36,866 --> 00:24:39,166 just high enough over this stone, 434 00:24:39,166 --> 00:24:41,966 and sliding its two wheels on either side. 435 00:24:41,966 --> 00:24:45,166 This is going to compress the traffic into this one location, 436 00:24:45,166 --> 00:24:48,066 and it's going to make more and more of the ruts 437 00:24:48,066 --> 00:24:51,400 that famously mark the streets here in Pompeii. 438 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,066 -As it rolled down the street, 439 00:24:53,066 --> 00:24:56,033 past Pompeii's bustling shops and squares, 440 00:24:56,033 --> 00:24:59,800 this ornate chariot would have undoubtedly turned heads. 441 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,533 -We know from ancient literature that very often 442 00:25:02,533 --> 00:25:04,266 these ancient carts, 443 00:25:04,266 --> 00:25:07,266 and particularly these kinds that are so elaborate, 444 00:25:07,266 --> 00:25:09,833 so ornate, were meant to draw attention. 445 00:25:09,833 --> 00:25:11,500 Some people would be just jealous. 446 00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:12,866 Some people would be dumbfounded. 447 00:25:12,866 --> 00:25:14,666 "I've never seen anything like that before." 448 00:25:14,666 --> 00:25:16,866 And still others, undoubtedly 449 00:25:16,866 --> 00:25:18,666 would judge the person driving it 450 00:25:18,666 --> 00:25:21,900 as being a bit amoral, of being too much of a showoff. 451 00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:23,366 And you might just appreciate 452 00:25:23,366 --> 00:25:25,166 what an interesting vehicle that is 453 00:25:25,166 --> 00:25:27,366 as it rolls past and then down the street 454 00:25:27,366 --> 00:25:28,666 and around the corner. 455 00:25:28,666 --> 00:25:31,733 -"This is the moment! 456 00:25:31,733 --> 00:25:36,000 The moment. It's the  457 00:25:31,733 --> 00:25:36,000 moment!" 458 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,366 -In Pompeii's urban core, the team has discovered 459 00:25:40,366 --> 00:25:43,366 a remarkably preserved roadside tavern -- 460 00:25:43,366 --> 00:25:46,633 evidence of a thriving street-food scene. 461 00:25:46,633 --> 00:25:57,600 ♪♪ 462 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,700 This was a fast-food restaurant of its time, 463 00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:03,800 with jars of wine, known as amphorae, 464 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:05,833 leaning against the counter 465 00:26:05,833 --> 00:26:07,733 as if they've just arrived by cart 466 00:26:07,733 --> 00:26:10,666 from the vineyards of the villas beyond the city walls. 467 00:26:10,666 --> 00:26:15,700 ♪♪ 468 00:26:15,700 --> 00:26:17,633 This type of restaurant, 469 00:26:17,633 --> 00:26:20,633 which served hot and cold food, as well as drinks, 470 00:26:20,633 --> 00:26:23,866 is known as a thermopolium. 471 00:26:23,866 --> 00:26:27,866 It's not the first of its kind to be unearthed in Pompeii. 472 00:26:27,866 --> 00:26:31,933 Incredibly, the city had more than 160 of these eateries 473 00:26:31,933 --> 00:26:34,300 at the time of the eruption. 474 00:26:34,300 --> 00:26:37,566 But this is the first one that will be excavated and studied 475 00:26:37,566 --> 00:26:39,733 using all the scientific tools 476 00:26:39,733 --> 00:26:42,633 available to 21st-century scientists. 477 00:26:42,633 --> 00:26:45,766 Professor Steven Ellis, an expert 478 00:26:45,766 --> 00:26:48,633 on restaurants and retail shops of the Roman world, 479 00:26:48,633 --> 00:26:50,133 is excited to see 480 00:26:50,133 --> 00:26:52,866 what the Italian archaeologists will discover. 481 00:26:52,866 --> 00:26:55,566 -Along with shops that are selling food and drink, 482 00:26:55,566 --> 00:26:58,633 we have shops for shoes, shops for clothes, 483 00:26:58,633 --> 00:27:00,166 shops for jewelry. 484 00:27:00,166 --> 00:27:02,533 These kinds of spaces really give us a chance 485 00:27:02,533 --> 00:27:05,333 to get in at the heart of urban life 486 00:27:05,333 --> 00:27:08,300 and at the heart of the urban economy, as well. 487 00:27:08,300 --> 00:27:10,100 -As in modern times, 488 00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:14,033 for a café like this, location is everything. 489 00:27:14,033 --> 00:27:16,466 -One of the great things about a thermopolium like this 490 00:27:16,466 --> 00:27:19,466 is it's positioned right here in the heart of the city, 491 00:27:19,466 --> 00:27:21,000 right at the intersection 492 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,466 of two of the busiest streets in all of Pompeii. 493 00:27:23,466 --> 00:27:25,233 What that gives them an opportunity to do is 494 00:27:25,233 --> 00:27:28,400 to set up their bar counter here at this corner, 495 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,700 facing out onto all of that traffic 496 00:27:30,700 --> 00:27:32,600 and really attracting all that attention 497 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,566 of all the people going in every different direction. 498 00:27:35,566 --> 00:27:38,433 -The abundance of these streetside taverns suggests 499 00:27:38,433 --> 00:27:41,333 that people in Pompeii loved to dine out, 500 00:27:41,333 --> 00:27:43,366 and is emblematic of a larger trend 501 00:27:43,366 --> 00:27:46,066 that was changing the cityscape of the Roman world 502 00:27:46,066 --> 00:27:48,000 in the 1st century. 503 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:53,533 It's an era Ellis hails as the golden age of Roman retail. 504 00:27:53,533 --> 00:27:56,466 -So, as you walk through the city of Pompeii in 79 A.D., 505 00:27:56,466 --> 00:27:58,266 what we'll find ourselves surrounded by 506 00:27:58,266 --> 00:28:01,300 is all these shops and all these thermopolia. 507 00:28:01,300 --> 00:28:03,233 But it wasn't always like this. 508 00:28:03,233 --> 00:28:06,366 These are the products of a great big economic boom 509 00:28:06,366 --> 00:28:08,733 that's sweeping through Pompeii and, indeed, other towns 510 00:28:08,733 --> 00:28:12,000 at the time and transforming their landscape. 511 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,800 So, where once there are a lot of workshops around us, 512 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,966 the sights and sounds and tinkering of making of objects, 513 00:28:17,966 --> 00:28:20,666 now, from the 1st century A.D., we start to see 514 00:28:20,666 --> 00:28:23,266 that being replaced with shops and bars 515 00:28:23,266 --> 00:28:24,666 and the sights and sounds 516 00:28:24,666 --> 00:28:26,666 of people consuming food and drink. 517 00:28:26,666 --> 00:28:29,233 -The newly uncovered thermopolium has 518 00:28:29,233 --> 00:28:31,766 one of the most intricately painted counters 519 00:28:31,766 --> 00:28:34,300 archaeologists have ever seen. 520 00:28:34,300 --> 00:28:36,666 Having an attractive bar or counter 521 00:28:36,666 --> 00:28:40,866 was key to the success of any Pompeiian roadside eatery. 522 00:28:40,866 --> 00:28:42,100 -So, here we are at the front 523 00:28:42,100 --> 00:28:44,500 of one of Pompeii's many thermopolia. 524 00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:46,133 It has its counter at the front here, 525 00:28:46,133 --> 00:28:48,466 on this main street running through Pompeii. 526 00:28:48,466 --> 00:28:51,400 And it practically kind of invites you to come on inside. 527 00:28:53,533 --> 00:28:55,033 Originally, it would have been made of wood, 528 00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:57,333 but these ones, by now, in the 1st century A.D., 529 00:28:57,333 --> 00:29:00,500 there's such a confidence and such a commitment to retailing 530 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:01,933 that they're now making them 531 00:29:01,933 --> 00:29:03,700 not only out of masonry but out of marble -- 532 00:29:03,700 --> 00:29:05,700 all these big, beautiful pieces of marble 533 00:29:05,700 --> 00:29:08,866 that have been cut and lined on the top of the surface here. 534 00:29:08,866 --> 00:29:11,700 Sunk into the counter are these vessels -- 535 00:29:11,700 --> 00:29:13,200 these earthenware pots 536 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,300 that were used for holding all sorts of things -- 537 00:29:15,300 --> 00:29:17,900 all the kinds of foods that they're trying to sell here, 538 00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:20,166 but also the day's takings. 539 00:29:20,166 --> 00:29:24,400 One of these had contained in it over a thousand coins 540 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,633 from the use of the shop in here. 541 00:29:26,633 --> 00:29:31,466 So these thermopolia are a real kind of central part 542 00:29:31,466 --> 00:29:33,566 to the world of the street. 543 00:29:33,566 --> 00:29:36,866 These are the lifeblood of Pompeiian street life. 544 00:29:36,866 --> 00:29:38,866 So there's all this moving traffic 545 00:29:38,866 --> 00:29:41,133 going both ways, up and down the street here, 546 00:29:41,133 --> 00:29:43,866 and they're stopping in not only at these bars, 547 00:29:43,866 --> 00:29:46,533 to be able to grab something to eat and something to drink, 548 00:29:46,533 --> 00:29:48,133 but they're also stopping in here 549 00:29:48,133 --> 00:29:50,233 to catch up with their friends and their associates. 550 00:29:50,233 --> 00:29:54,266 -December 2020 -- The Italian archeologists 551 00:29:54,266 --> 00:29:56,266 have been working on the thermopolium site 552 00:29:56,266 --> 00:29:57,966 for more than a year. 553 00:29:57,966 --> 00:30:00,366 It has turned out to be one of the most beautiful 554 00:30:00,366 --> 00:30:04,366 and perfectly preserved shops in all of Pompeii, 555 00:30:04,366 --> 00:30:08,633 offering new insights into daily life in the doomed city. 556 00:30:11,633 --> 00:30:13,366 -We have found this bottle, 557 00:30:13,366 --> 00:30:17,066 and on the bottom, there was a roof tile. 558 00:30:17,066 --> 00:30:20,333 And under the roof tile, there was a lump. 559 00:30:20,333 --> 00:30:25,600 The analysis proved it was fragments of fava beans. 560 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,633 Ground fava beans might have served as a whitener for wine, 561 00:30:29,633 --> 00:30:31,833 which was common at that time. 562 00:30:31,833 --> 00:30:37,600 ♪♪ 563 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:39,933 -But more was still to come. 564 00:30:39,933 --> 00:30:43,500 After opening one of the jars of the bar, 565 00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:46,133 we smelt a very strong smell of wine. 566 00:30:46,133 --> 00:30:48,466 It's really extraordinary. 567 00:30:48,466 --> 00:30:51,400 We might call it olfactory archeology. 568 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:56,400 ♪♪ 569 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:58,633 -That distinctive smell coming from the dolium 570 00:30:58,633 --> 00:31:00,666 during the excavation works, 571 00:31:00,666 --> 00:31:03,000 it was a unique experience for us. 572 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,066 And it's weird, considering that the dolium had been sealed 573 00:31:06,066 --> 00:31:07,933 for over 2,000 years. 574 00:31:07,933 --> 00:31:13,633 ♪♪ 575 00:31:13,633 --> 00:31:16,433 -We're now analyzing the contents of these containers, 576 00:31:16,433 --> 00:31:20,033 which were sealed by the cinders of the eruption. 577 00:31:21,433 --> 00:31:23,433 Bones of animals are emerging 578 00:31:23,433 --> 00:31:26,033 which were apparently used for food preparation. 579 00:31:26,033 --> 00:31:29,633 Analyzing the whole contents, we'll finally learn 580 00:31:29,633 --> 00:31:31,233 what people used to eat in Pompeii, 581 00:31:31,233 --> 00:31:33,833 in exceptional detail -- much greater than before. 582 00:31:33,833 --> 00:31:43,666 ♪♪ 583 00:31:43,666 --> 00:31:47,133 -We have a series of fragments which were probably 584 00:31:47,133 --> 00:31:49,933 part of preparations contained in the jars 585 00:31:49,933 --> 00:31:53,666 when the volcano erupted. 586 00:31:53,666 --> 00:31:56,600 They used to mix different animals, 587 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,800 what we probably wouldn't normally do today -- 588 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:05,433 goat or sheep meat -- it's not clear which one -- 589 00:32:05,433 --> 00:32:08,366 fish, a land snail, and, 590 00:32:08,366 --> 00:32:15,833 as a representative of poultry, a fragment of a duck bone. 591 00:32:15,833 --> 00:32:17,533 -A lot of the houses around here, 592 00:32:17,533 --> 00:32:19,600 particularly the smaller ones and the smaller apartments 593 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,566 and the smaller rooms that people are renting out 594 00:32:21,566 --> 00:32:24,166 above the nicer houses on the ground floor, 595 00:32:24,166 --> 00:32:26,433 they don't have cooking facilities, 596 00:32:26,433 --> 00:32:28,066 they don't have cooking provisions. 597 00:32:28,066 --> 00:32:30,566 So if you want to get that cooked meal, 598 00:32:30,566 --> 00:32:32,500 you've got to come down to a place like this. 599 00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:37,533 ♪♪ 600 00:32:37,533 --> 00:32:39,900 -What's interesting is, the bar of this particular thermopolium 601 00:32:39,900 --> 00:32:42,266 shows incredible paintings for the first time. 602 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:51,400 On one side, there is a Nereid, a character in marine mythology, 603 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,833 riding a seahorse. 604 00:32:53,833 --> 00:32:55,400 This was probably a homage 605 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,200 to the area where the thermopolium was installed, 606 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,666 which was a little square with a fountain. 607 00:33:00,666 --> 00:33:05,833 ♪♪ 608 00:33:05,833 --> 00:33:09,533 -The decorating panels on the fronts of this thermopolium 609 00:33:09,533 --> 00:33:11,766 are particularly intriguing. 610 00:33:11,766 --> 00:33:16,533 In this panel, the bar itself is represented, 611 00:33:16,533 --> 00:33:19,766 with the same bend it actually has. 612 00:33:19,766 --> 00:33:26,233 ♪♪ 613 00:33:26,233 --> 00:33:28,666 Then, there is this row of amphorae 614 00:33:28,666 --> 00:33:30,233 which we've actually found here 615 00:33:30,233 --> 00:33:32,733 during the first stages of our excavation works -- 616 00:33:32,733 --> 00:33:35,033 just here, standing in front of the bar. 617 00:33:35,033 --> 00:33:38,366 So, this panel was meant to communicate something 618 00:33:38,366 --> 00:33:41,300 so that passers-by would know immediately where they were 619 00:33:41,300 --> 00:33:43,633 and what they might expect to find here, 620 00:33:43,633 --> 00:33:47,900 with a very realistic representation. 621 00:33:47,900 --> 00:33:50,233 -Not all the animals pictured on the counter 622 00:33:50,233 --> 00:33:52,233 were actually on the menu. 623 00:33:52,233 --> 00:33:56,700 This image calls to mind one of Pompeii's most famous mosaics, 624 00:33:56,700 --> 00:34:00,266 which warns "Beware of dog" in Latin. 625 00:34:00,266 --> 00:34:02,833 -There is a dog on a chain -- 626 00:34:02,833 --> 00:34:06,233 a new, very interesting "Cave Canem," 627 00:34:06,233 --> 00:34:09,266 similar to the more famous one, which was probably 628 00:34:09,266 --> 00:34:11,066 here somewhere as part of the shop, 629 00:34:11,066 --> 00:34:14,333 to guard against unwanted visitors. 630 00:34:16,566 --> 00:34:18,533 A close inspection of the painting 631 00:34:18,533 --> 00:34:21,900 reveals a lighter side of life in ancient Pompeii. 632 00:34:21,900 --> 00:34:26,066 Like modern bathroom walls, these counters attracted 633 00:34:26,066 --> 00:34:28,733 the musings of graffiti artists. 634 00:34:28,733 --> 00:34:31,800 -In the upper frame of this picture, 635 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:36,166 there's a graffiti that reads, "Nicia cinaede cacator." 636 00:34:36,166 --> 00:34:39,733 Nicia is a person's name of Greek origin. 637 00:34:39,733 --> 00:34:42,700 "Cacator" literally means "defecator," 638 00:34:42,700 --> 00:34:44,866 so someone who defecates. 639 00:34:44,866 --> 00:34:48,666 So, the sentence means, 640 00:34:48,666 --> 00:34:51,333 "Defecating Nicia, you are a pervert." 641 00:34:51,333 --> 00:34:56,833 It was undoubtedly graffitied here after the bar was painted, 642 00:34:56,833 --> 00:35:01,333 not by laborers, but rather by someone 643 00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:03,566 whose intent was to insult someone 644 00:35:03,566 --> 00:35:05,266 who worked here or 645 00:35:05,266 --> 00:35:08,066 maybe even the owner of this thermopolium. 646 00:35:08,066 --> 00:35:13,933 ♪♪ 647 00:35:13,933 --> 00:35:16,133 -Behind the thermopolium counter, 648 00:35:16,133 --> 00:35:20,066 the team has made a somber discovery of human bones. 649 00:35:20,066 --> 00:35:26,266 ♪♪ 650 00:35:26,266 --> 00:35:28,333 -I'm now clearing the remains 651 00:35:28,333 --> 00:35:32,700 that have been found behind the bar. 652 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:35,300 Presumably, they are the remains of human beings 653 00:35:35,300 --> 00:35:38,300 who were inside the room when the volcano erupted. 654 00:35:38,300 --> 00:35:49,266 ♪♪ 655 00:35:49,266 --> 00:35:53,100 In this other spot, 656 00:35:53,100 --> 00:35:59,000 we didn't find dispersed bones, but consecutive bones, 657 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,333 which means they are exactly where the person died 658 00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:06,000 that morning in 79 A.D. 659 00:36:08,066 --> 00:36:11,000 What you see here is the niche of a bed, 660 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:15,066 and here are traces of some organic, iron material, 661 00:36:15,066 --> 00:36:16,966 which was probably the bed. 662 00:36:16,966 --> 00:36:20,400 It appears to be a male, 45 to 50 years old. 663 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:29,700 ♪♪ 664 00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:32,366 -As the excavation nears completion, 665 00:36:32,366 --> 00:36:36,166 the artifacts are preserved and catalogued. 666 00:36:36,166 --> 00:36:39,500 All this bone and clay has added flesh and blood 667 00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:42,900 to the story of Pompeii's final days -- 668 00:36:42,900 --> 00:36:45,133 days in which brightly painted signage 669 00:36:45,133 --> 00:36:48,233 lured rich and poor alike to the busy roadside 670 00:36:48,233 --> 00:36:50,266 for a drink of local wine, 671 00:36:50,266 --> 00:36:53,400 or perhaps a taste of snail-and-fish stew. 672 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,666 -You really see how this worked 673 00:36:56,666 --> 00:37:02,700 as a space where images, people, and actions 674 00:37:02,700 --> 00:37:06,100 were part of one whole complex 675 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:08,500 that we are trying to reconstruct. 676 00:37:08,500 --> 00:37:10,600 That's really the idea. 677 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:12,966 Our main interest is not, you know, 678 00:37:12,966 --> 00:37:19,066 ancient art or ancient skeletons as a single element, 679 00:37:19,066 --> 00:37:23,700 but the lifeworld of these people. 680 00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:26,433 [ Indistinct shouting ] 681 00:37:26,433 --> 00:37:27,933 [ Bell clanging ] 682 00:37:27,933 --> 00:37:30,666 -The lives cut short by the terror of Vesuvius 683 00:37:30,666 --> 00:37:36,333 were centered around the daily activities of urban existence. 684 00:37:36,333 --> 00:37:38,466 This was the Roman world 685 00:37:38,466 --> 00:37:42,066 of gladiator games and raucous street festivals. 686 00:37:42,066 --> 00:37:45,266 [ Indistinct shouting ] 687 00:37:45,266 --> 00:37:54,433 ♪♪ 688 00:37:54,433 --> 00:37:58,866 -Really fantastic. -Fantastic. 689 00:37:58,866 --> 00:38:05,566 ♪♪ 690 00:38:05,566 --> 00:38:07,900 -This monument, right at the doorstep 691 00:38:07,900 --> 00:38:10,533 of the Pompeii Archeological Park headquarters, 692 00:38:10,533 --> 00:38:12,766 commemorates one such festival 693 00:38:12,766 --> 00:38:16,433 thrown for the city by one of its richest men. 694 00:38:16,433 --> 00:38:20,466 One can easily imagine the recently excavated carriage 695 00:38:20,466 --> 00:38:24,666 rolling down the paved streets in a ceremonial procession -- 696 00:38:24,666 --> 00:38:26,266 perhaps what it was doing 697 00:38:26,266 --> 00:38:29,300 in the days or hours before the sky turned dark 698 00:38:29,300 --> 00:38:32,466 and the vehicle disappeared into the ash 699 00:38:32,466 --> 00:38:35,233 that would conceal it for two millennia. 700 00:38:35,233 --> 00:38:37,700 -When the eruption started, 701 00:38:37,700 --> 00:38:42,333 the chariot was there, ready to be used, 702 00:38:42,333 --> 00:38:45,266 or it had just been used. 703 00:38:45,266 --> 00:38:50,700 Then, it started raining the pumice stones, 704 00:38:50,700 --> 00:38:53,500 but the chariot was in a portico, 705 00:38:53,500 --> 00:39:00,166 so it was not immediately covered by this material. 706 00:39:00,166 --> 00:39:04,933 It eventually accumulated on the roofs. 707 00:39:04,933 --> 00:39:06,333 In some cases, we know 708 00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:10,833 that the roofs started to collapse. 709 00:39:10,833 --> 00:39:17,000 The arrival of pyroclastic shock waves 710 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,000 with ashes entered into the portico 711 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,300 and covered the chariot and eventually become 712 00:39:24,300 --> 00:39:29,566 the reason why the chariot is so well-conserved, 713 00:39:29,566 --> 00:39:33,466 almost as it was in the moment of the eruption. 714 00:39:36,100 --> 00:39:39,466 -Freed from the ash, the chariot can now be analyzed 715 00:39:39,466 --> 00:39:42,433 with such accuracy that digital artists 716 00:39:42,433 --> 00:39:45,133 have been able to re-create what it might have looked like 717 00:39:45,133 --> 00:39:48,166 on the day of the eruption. 718 00:39:52,233 --> 00:39:54,200 -Looks, it's beautiful. 719 00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:56,666 You can clearly see the break. 720 00:39:56,666 --> 00:40:00,300 -It is a bit like what I have here. 721 00:40:00,300 --> 00:40:02,600 -Mm. Yes. 722 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:08,466 Pompeii findings are usually tools, objects of everyday life, 723 00:40:08,466 --> 00:40:12,166 from ceramics to metal, 724 00:40:12,166 --> 00:40:14,266 but it's the first time we've found a chariot 725 00:40:14,266 --> 00:40:18,033 in this state of preservation, which is complete. 726 00:40:18,033 --> 00:40:20,033 [ Conversation in Italian ] 727 00:40:23,466 --> 00:40:27,900 -Right now, I'm just removing the excess chalk and ashes 728 00:40:27,900 --> 00:40:30,166 from these metal sheets. 729 00:40:30,166 --> 00:40:31,966 This is to slow down corrosion 730 00:40:31,966 --> 00:40:34,400 that would otherwise attack much faster 731 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:37,533 by retaining moisture on the surface. 732 00:40:37,533 --> 00:40:42,566 Nonetheless, I'm trying to remove as many ashes as possible 733 00:40:42,566 --> 00:40:44,400 in order to prevent humidity 734 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:46,700 from pursuing the corrosion process. 735 00:40:46,700 --> 00:40:51,200 -Anything we find here in Pompeii 736 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:53,766 is covered with these ashes. 737 00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:58,233 All the exhibits on this table 738 00:40:58,233 --> 00:41:00,766 come from the same side of the chariot, 739 00:41:00,766 --> 00:41:03,066 which is the backboard. 740 00:41:05,333 --> 00:41:09,133 These are the medallions that we can see in this composition. 741 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:14,266 -The light alloy medallions 742 00:41:14,266 --> 00:41:16,433 are also in a fairly stable condition 743 00:41:16,433 --> 00:41:18,333 during the excavation phase. 744 00:41:18,333 --> 00:41:20,966 We only secured them with this sort of Band-Aid 745 00:41:20,966 --> 00:41:23,566 where it was absolutely necessary 746 00:41:23,566 --> 00:41:26,633 to avoid fragments from falling off. 747 00:41:26,633 --> 00:41:34,933 ♪♪ 748 00:41:34,933 --> 00:41:39,433 Look. There was silver here. 749 00:41:39,433 --> 00:41:42,966 Look, it's beautiful! 750 00:41:42,966 --> 00:41:45,133 -We are discovering this live. 751 00:41:45,133 --> 00:41:47,200 -You're witnessing a discovery! 752 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:50,133 [ Chuckles ] 753 00:41:50,133 --> 00:41:53,733 -The restoration of the chariot adds vivid detail 754 00:41:53,733 --> 00:41:57,066 to the understanding of the city elite's lifestyle. 755 00:41:57,066 --> 00:41:59,833 But further excavations are shedding new light 756 00:41:59,833 --> 00:42:02,166 on how the other half lived. 757 00:42:02,166 --> 00:42:05,466 Adjacent to the stable where the horses were found, 758 00:42:05,466 --> 00:42:08,400 and just off the portico where the chariot rested, 759 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:11,500 the team has uncovered a tiny room. 760 00:42:14,300 --> 00:42:18,900 Only 170 square feet, it has three wooden beds, 761 00:42:18,900 --> 00:42:21,333 one of which appears to have been for a child. 762 00:42:21,333 --> 00:42:24,566 Archaeologists speculate this is the bedroom 763 00:42:24,566 --> 00:42:27,433 of the villa's servants, possibly enslaved. 764 00:42:27,433 --> 00:42:29,833 Perhaps a small family. 765 00:42:29,833 --> 00:42:32,800 It seems to have also doubled as a storage room, 766 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:35,033 with clay pots crammed into the corners. 767 00:42:35,033 --> 00:42:38,633 -What little we know is through the official sources, 768 00:42:38,633 --> 00:42:40,933 which are always, or almost always, 769 00:42:40,933 --> 00:42:43,033 from the point of view of the wealthy elite. 770 00:42:43,033 --> 00:42:47,200 And here, instead, we see the life of the slaves and servants, 771 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:50,500 the people of a lower economic status. 772 00:42:50,500 --> 00:42:53,400 -And leaning against one of the beds, 773 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,733 evidence suggesting that whoever occupied this small room 774 00:42:56,733 --> 00:42:58,966 was also responsible for the maintenance 775 00:42:58,966 --> 00:43:03,466 of the magnificent vehicle just steps away. 776 00:43:03,466 --> 00:43:05,933 -Here is the steering mechanism. 777 00:43:05,933 --> 00:43:08,766 Ultimately, it was used to connect the chariot 778 00:43:08,766 --> 00:43:12,300 to the horses that were found just a few steps away from us. 779 00:43:12,300 --> 00:43:15,866 So, really this room served both as a resting place 780 00:43:15,866 --> 00:43:17,333 and the storage room 781 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:21,133 where recently used objects were placed. 782 00:43:21,133 --> 00:43:22,966 Let's also remember 783 00:43:22,966 --> 00:43:25,433 that we found wheat kernels on the chariot, 784 00:43:25,433 --> 00:43:28,133 meaning it was either ready to be used 785 00:43:28,133 --> 00:43:30,200 or had just been used. 786 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:31,666 And for this reason, 787 00:43:31,666 --> 00:43:34,800 a steering mechanism had been set down nearby. 788 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:37,666 Indeed, the part has been exceptionally preserved, 789 00:43:37,666 --> 00:43:39,633 because, on this side, we can view 790 00:43:39,633 --> 00:43:42,233 this whole set of twines that was so exciting to us 791 00:43:42,233 --> 00:43:44,033 to see emerging from the earth 792 00:43:44,033 --> 00:43:46,833 while digging it out, day by day. 793 00:43:46,833 --> 00:43:50,833 Along with it, there's a whole system of ropes and planks 794 00:43:50,833 --> 00:43:53,433 that are held together by this iron ring 795 00:43:53,433 --> 00:43:55,800 of which we can see only a trace. 796 00:43:59,900 --> 00:44:01,700 Therefore, such a steering mechanism 797 00:44:01,700 --> 00:44:04,266 is precisely the element we needed 798 00:44:04,266 --> 00:44:07,266 to figure out how this vibrant and one-of-a-kind 799 00:44:07,266 --> 00:44:12,266 ceremonial chariot, found in the portico next to us, works. 800 00:44:12,266 --> 00:44:27,100 ♪♪ 801 00:44:27,100 --> 00:44:28,833 -Down a nearby hallway, 802 00:44:28,833 --> 00:44:31,966 the building is hiding one final secret. 803 00:44:33,733 --> 00:44:36,566 This corridor beneath the villa 804 00:44:36,566 --> 00:44:39,633 had steps connecting it to the upper floor. 805 00:44:39,633 --> 00:44:44,866 ♪♪ 806 00:44:44,866 --> 00:44:46,633 In a room off to the side, 807 00:44:46,633 --> 00:44:50,066 archeologists have found a void in the ash layer. 808 00:44:54,733 --> 00:44:57,733 [ Conversation in Italian ] 809 00:45:09,500 --> 00:45:13,766 Further investigation reveals the skeletal remains of two men. 810 00:45:13,766 --> 00:45:17,066 -We have spotted two victims 811 00:45:17,066 --> 00:45:19,466 in a villa in the outskirts of Pompeii. 812 00:45:23,066 --> 00:45:25,966 The hollows left in the ashes by the decomposed bodies 813 00:45:25,966 --> 00:45:28,200 were intact. 814 00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:34,133 ♪♪ 815 00:45:34,133 --> 00:45:36,700 -We haven't found something like this for years. 816 00:45:36,700 --> 00:45:39,833 We are now finally able not only to take the mold 817 00:45:39,833 --> 00:45:42,066 but also to gather a complete set of data 818 00:45:42,066 --> 00:45:46,433 which allow us to look deeper, compared with usual discoveries. 819 00:45:46,433 --> 00:45:52,300 Once these data are collected and a laser scan analysis made, 820 00:45:52,300 --> 00:45:56,000 we have poured plaster into the body hollows. 821 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,900 In this case we have poured as much as 95 liters of plaster, 822 00:45:59,900 --> 00:46:02,733 and we have been very lucky, as we initially thought 823 00:46:02,733 --> 00:46:06,133 the hollows were not so well-preserved. 824 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,666 -The casts capture the ancient impressions 825 00:46:12,666 --> 00:46:15,700 of clothes that have long since disintegrated, 826 00:46:15,700 --> 00:46:19,566 including the folds of woolen cloaks. 827 00:46:19,566 --> 00:46:22,466 This is a significant find. 828 00:46:22,466 --> 00:46:26,133 It suggests the victims were dressed for cool weather. 829 00:46:26,133 --> 00:46:30,866 Just like the date found on the wall in the initial excavations, 830 00:46:30,866 --> 00:46:34,100 it points to the disaster having happened in the fall, 831 00:46:34,100 --> 00:46:37,666 not, as long believe, the heat of August. 832 00:46:37,666 --> 00:46:40,766 -Indeed, we got the entire body shapes. 833 00:46:40,766 --> 00:46:42,533 Look, you can see the full footprint! 834 00:46:42,533 --> 00:46:45,733 And not only the drapery, the fibers themselves are visible. 835 00:46:45,733 --> 00:46:48,600 They have been preserved so well! 836 00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:51,833 -Buried in ash at least 6 1/2 feet thick, 837 00:46:51,833 --> 00:46:54,633 the two men were likely trying to escape 838 00:46:54,633 --> 00:46:58,700 when they were overwhelmed by a pyroclastic surge, 839 00:46:58,700 --> 00:47:00,500 their hands and feet clenched 840 00:47:00,500 --> 00:47:04,366 in a manner typical of death by thermal shock. 841 00:47:04,366 --> 00:47:08,566 -This is a high-definition surveying laser scanner. 842 00:47:08,566 --> 00:47:12,000 The main feature of this model 843 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,766 is that it performs a real-scale scan, 844 00:47:14,766 --> 00:47:17,133 and when I click on each cluster, 845 00:47:17,133 --> 00:47:19,733 I can see any dimension I need at all times. 846 00:47:19,733 --> 00:47:25,666 ♪♪ 847 00:47:25,666 --> 00:47:27,866 How useful is it? 848 00:47:27,866 --> 00:47:30,033 First of all, we can make a historical record 849 00:47:30,033 --> 00:47:32,900 of the various stages of the excavation works. 850 00:47:32,900 --> 00:47:35,700 We can document all the levels descending down to this one, 851 00:47:35,700 --> 00:47:37,900 where we found the corpses. 852 00:47:37,900 --> 00:47:42,000 3-D scanning represents a considerable added value 853 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,333 as the archeologists of the future 854 00:47:44,333 --> 00:47:46,066 will have more accurate information 855 00:47:46,066 --> 00:47:48,133 about what we are doing today. 856 00:47:48,133 --> 00:47:56,333 ♪♪ 857 00:47:56,333 --> 00:47:59,766 -We have worked with a cross-disciplinary approach. 858 00:47:59,766 --> 00:48:02,433 We'll perform further analyses. 859 00:48:02,433 --> 00:48:05,100 This means that many sets of data 860 00:48:05,100 --> 00:48:07,500 that risked getting lost in the past 861 00:48:07,500 --> 00:48:10,300 have now been recorded since the start, 862 00:48:10,300 --> 00:48:12,300 and they tell us how the victims were dressed, 863 00:48:12,300 --> 00:48:14,300 as well as providing some crucial information 864 00:48:14,300 --> 00:48:16,300 about the eruption. 865 00:48:16,300 --> 00:48:18,533 The latest discoveries suggest, for example, 866 00:48:18,533 --> 00:48:22,166 that it happened in October and not in August, 867 00:48:22,166 --> 00:48:25,666 and these molds prove it with relative certainty. 868 00:48:25,666 --> 00:48:29,266 One of the victims wore a very thick woolen cloak, 869 00:48:29,266 --> 00:48:32,400 as the warp and weft of the collar suggest. 870 00:48:32,400 --> 00:48:35,600 So we have a huge amount of information 871 00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:39,333 which is useful to have an idea of how the city was made up. 872 00:48:42,233 --> 00:48:45,466 -The intricate clothing worn by one of the victims 873 00:48:45,466 --> 00:48:48,066 indicates he was a man of high status. 874 00:48:48,066 --> 00:48:50,366 The other man's clothes are simpler, 875 00:48:50,366 --> 00:48:54,366 and his compressed vertebrae suggest a life of manual labor. 876 00:48:54,366 --> 00:48:58,433 -Two really impressive bodies, 877 00:48:58,433 --> 00:49:00,833 which made us feel very emotional 878 00:49:00,833 --> 00:49:04,033 and caused deep sympathy in the entire team. 879 00:49:04,033 --> 00:49:08,700 We've determined that one was a young man in his 20s, 880 00:49:08,700 --> 00:49:13,266 150 to 155 centimeters tall, probably a slave, 881 00:49:13,266 --> 00:49:16,666 as his bones show marks and traces of heavy work. 882 00:49:16,666 --> 00:49:20,800 Next to him is an older man, in his 40s, 883 00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:22,733 probably his master, or dominus. 884 00:49:22,733 --> 00:49:24,300 We're not sure, 885 00:49:24,300 --> 00:49:26,300 but he was certainly of a different social status. 886 00:49:26,300 --> 00:49:30,566 To see the past re-emerging from the ashes 887 00:49:30,566 --> 00:49:33,666 in this intense and sometimes intact way 888 00:49:33,666 --> 00:49:36,200 completely overwhelms me. 889 00:49:40,466 --> 00:49:43,066 -One can speculate about who these men were. 890 00:49:43,066 --> 00:49:45,333 The owner of the villa, 891 00:49:45,333 --> 00:49:47,533 accompanied by one of his servants? 892 00:49:47,533 --> 00:49:50,466 Perhaps they were attempting to get to the horses 893 00:49:50,466 --> 00:49:52,366 when disaster struck. 894 00:49:54,133 --> 00:49:57,300 -From what we can see, 895 00:49:57,300 --> 00:50:00,266 at least 10 centimeters of ashes are below the molds. 896 00:50:00,266 --> 00:50:04,633 So these people died during the second pyroclastic surge, 897 00:50:04,633 --> 00:50:07,100 which was certainly the most violent one. 898 00:50:07,100 --> 00:50:10,400 -And caused the death of those who were hoping to escape 899 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:13,566 when it was quiet between the first and second surge. 900 00:50:13,566 --> 00:51:01,266 ♪♪ 901 00:51:01,266 --> 00:51:05,200 -Here, we are dealing with faces, expressions -- 902 00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:08,800 desperate facial expressions. 903 00:51:11,700 --> 00:51:14,300 Knowing that we could do something 904 00:51:14,300 --> 00:51:15,933 to cast light onto something 905 00:51:15,933 --> 00:51:20,033 that had lived in oblivion for almost 2,000 years 906 00:51:20,033 --> 00:51:23,600 has really inspired me to extract these bodies 907 00:51:23,600 --> 00:51:25,800 and bring them back into history. 908 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:28,433 In this way, they're going to live forever. 909 00:51:28,433 --> 00:51:44,200 ♪♪ 910 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:46,466 -The recent discoveries 911 00:51:46,466 --> 00:51:49,200 only reinforce the connection we feel 912 00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:52,233 with these people of the ancient past. 913 00:51:52,233 --> 00:51:56,066 The new plaster casts demonstrate 914 00:51:56,066 --> 00:52:01,266 that life in Pompeii was not so different from today. 915 00:52:01,266 --> 00:52:05,466 The stunning, new finds at Pompeii 916 00:52:05,466 --> 00:52:07,166 have given us a clearer picture 917 00:52:07,166 --> 00:52:10,200 of urban life in the 1st century, 918 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:14,200 possibly rewritten history about the date of the eruption, 919 00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:17,433 and allowed us to reimagine the final hours 920 00:52:17,433 --> 00:52:21,100 of a vibrant and surprisingly modern street scene. 921 00:52:24,166 --> 00:52:27,000 It was just around noon. [ Seagull calling ] 922 00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:29,566 As usual, the city center was crowded 923 00:52:29,566 --> 00:52:33,633 with carts navigating narrow one-way streets. 924 00:52:33,633 --> 00:52:36,400 Workers were still rebuilding houses 925 00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:39,666 and repairing roads from earlier earthquakes. 926 00:52:39,666 --> 00:52:43,033 Along the roadside, café proprietors 927 00:52:43,033 --> 00:52:46,700 competed for customers, with the promise of hot food, 928 00:52:46,700 --> 00:52:51,066 and wine freshly delivered from the surrounding countryside. 929 00:52:51,066 --> 00:52:53,266 Perhaps a ceremonial carriage 930 00:52:53,266 --> 00:52:56,300 had just returned to the stables of a suburban villa, 931 00:52:56,300 --> 00:53:00,366 where a family of servants waited to service the vehicle, 932 00:53:00,366 --> 00:53:03,833 and their wealthy masters retired upstairs. 933 00:53:03,833 --> 00:53:06,633 -On the day of the eruption life in the street 934 00:53:06,633 --> 00:53:10,633 would have been carrying on as it had for years before. 935 00:53:10,633 --> 00:53:13,466 But at that moment, we should imagine 936 00:53:13,466 --> 00:53:15,100 that life stopped, 937 00:53:15,100 --> 00:53:18,466 not necessarily in terror immediately, 938 00:53:18,466 --> 00:53:21,366 but first just in confusion -- 939 00:53:21,366 --> 00:53:23,000 what was happening on the mountain? 940 00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:26,633 -The sky is darkening, and what's really happening for them 941 00:53:26,633 --> 00:53:30,633 is something that is beyond any kind of comprehension. 942 00:53:30,633 --> 00:53:33,200 -We would have seen the pedestrians beginning to run 943 00:53:33,200 --> 00:53:36,900 and probably the mule drivers running with their mules. 944 00:53:36,900 --> 00:53:39,966 The crowd probably actually then stopped 945 00:53:39,966 --> 00:53:42,033 most of the vehicles from going anywhere 946 00:53:42,033 --> 00:53:43,866 because they would have thronged the streets. 947 00:53:43,866 --> 00:53:47,500 -So the household here, who's running a bar like this, 948 00:53:47,500 --> 00:53:49,033 they have a choice to make. 949 00:53:49,033 --> 00:53:51,666 They're either going to flee with lots of others 950 00:53:51,666 --> 00:53:53,733 who are trying to flee out of the city, 951 00:53:53,733 --> 00:53:55,466 or as we see with other kinds of places, 952 00:53:55,466 --> 00:53:58,500 they're also trying to take refuge in buildings like this, 953 00:53:58,500 --> 00:54:02,100 maybe holed out in one of the back rooms behind here. 954 00:54:02,100 --> 00:54:06,233 -Ultimately, the vast majority of Pompeii's inhabitants 955 00:54:06,233 --> 00:54:07,666 chose to flee. 956 00:54:07,666 --> 00:54:10,600 But 2,000 people stayed behind, 957 00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:14,300 only to die in the streets and inside buildings. 958 00:54:14,300 --> 00:54:18,700 The haunting question is "Why?" 959 00:54:18,700 --> 00:54:21,333 Why did so many choose to remain, 960 00:54:21,333 --> 00:54:24,266 when so many others escaped? 961 00:54:24,266 --> 00:54:26,566 -Here in modern Pompeii, people walking around, 962 00:54:26,566 --> 00:54:29,033 if the eruption went off, would grab their cellphones 963 00:54:29,033 --> 00:54:31,133 and they'd call their family to find help, 964 00:54:31,133 --> 00:54:32,566 to find each other, 965 00:54:32,566 --> 00:54:34,666 and to think of a way to escape together. 966 00:54:34,666 --> 00:54:37,600 But in the ancient world, obviously this wasn't possible. 967 00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:39,066 So, what would people do? 968 00:54:39,066 --> 00:54:41,600 They'd think, "My husband's in the forum. 969 00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:43,300 My children are with their grandmother. 970 00:54:43,300 --> 00:54:45,033 I've got to bring them all together. 971 00:54:45,033 --> 00:54:47,666 I'm at home. I hope they'll come here." 972 00:54:47,666 --> 00:54:50,100 If they didn't come, would you leave? 973 00:54:50,100 --> 00:54:53,600 Would you try to find them? Or would you try to escape? 974 00:54:53,600 --> 00:54:56,033 So many people probably died in ancient Pompeii 975 00:54:56,033 --> 00:54:58,900 simply because they couldn't find the people they loved, 976 00:54:58,900 --> 00:55:01,533 and they wouldn't abandon them to their fate. 977 00:55:01,533 --> 00:55:04,266 -And so it is with the archeologists 978 00:55:04,266 --> 00:55:07,033 tasked with preserving Pompeii. 979 00:55:07,033 --> 00:55:10,300 Rather than abandon the city to its fate, 980 00:55:10,300 --> 00:55:14,066 they continue the work of generations. 981 00:55:14,066 --> 00:55:17,500 With tools never dreamed of by those who came before them, 982 00:55:17,500 --> 00:55:20,666 they carry on in solemn pursuit 983 00:55:20,666 --> 00:55:25,600 of all the stories still buried in the ash. 984 00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:26,633 O0 C1 985 00:55:26,633 --> 00:55:30,633 Next time, the collapse of the Roman Empire.