Roman Bodies

 So, you can tour most all of America, and not see any human remains. It never crossed my mind that things would be different over there. 

We weren’t allowed to take pictures in the Capuchin Crypts, or in the catacombs, but I screenshots a Google search to give you the idea. 

This was in the Capuchin Crypts, where their inter sanctuary was decorated with the skeleton remains of over 3,000 monks. There were also mummified remains in the mix. 

It was sad seeing the obsession with death that this monk order had, but it was also unique hearing the story of why they were the way they were, and how they were reacting to a wrong teaching of the church. It sounded like a lot of the theological arguments of the church today. One church gets something a little wrong, so another church pendulum swings to a wrong extreme on the other side, and pretty soon you have to totally opposite beliefs, and they’re both out of balance. 

The catacombs were incredible. If you’ve read “Martyr of the Catacombs”, or any book with them in, they’re exactly how you imagine them. I understand now why the Christians hiding down there were safe. The Roman’s fear of getting lost down there is no joke! Everything looks the same for miles. I’m so thankful for our guide! 

You’ll notice in the picture, that the graves have been dug out, and are empty. This is because tourists used to steal bones, and grave robbers would sell them as “relics” claiming that they had the REAL bone from some Saint. They say if you add up all the bones of some of those saints, they have multiple legs and heads. So, to preserve the rest of the bones, they were removed from the catacombs and placed in church crypts. 

We visited a lot of magnificent churches, but many of them had these disturbing glass coffins with what I assumed were wax bodies of “saints” displayed. 

I found out later, that some of them, are the original skeletons, just covered in wax, and dressed in the real clothes that belonged to the individual. You could even see the wear on their shoes. 

We didn’t get to go to Priscilla’s Catacombs, but we did get to see where the bone’s from Priscilla’s Catacombs were placed. That circle behind me, conceals the crypt where they were placed. 

Then, there was Pompeii. The bodies of those who didn’t escape were buried under many feet of ash and rocks. As the decay took place, it left hollowed out crevices. Archeologists were able to fill those cavities with plaster and capture the final moments of those people. 

In the background, is the plaster of a teenage boy huddled with his hands over his face trying to breathe in the falling ash and fumes of Mt. Vesuvius. 

For the catacombs tour, we entered the catacombs of San Callisto. 

This is the plaster of a child buried at Pompeii. 

So, I got super excited to see the Catacombs of Priscilla. In America, Priscilla isn’t a super common name, so I assumed this Priscilla was the Biblical Priscilla. The Bible specifically says Priscilla and Aquila came from Rome. 

But… these weren’t actually the catacombs of that Priscilla, but another one. A noblewoman whose husband was killed for his faith. She donated some land for these catacombs.

 

Prisca, is the Latin version of Priscilla, so in the Bible, when Paul is in Rome, he refers to Priscilla as Prisca. 

This was the first glass coffin we saw. It was disturbing, and sad seeing candles lit in front of it from people praying. As if a dead person could answer prayers. I’m so thankful that we have a risen savior! 

This donkey was buried at Pompeii in 79AD. 

And yet another one… 

It was cool seeing my name a little more common over there! 

Eight Years . . .

I'm not done with my Roman posts, but today happens to be my blog anniversary! So, I'd like to thank you all for reading over the last eight years and putting up with my sporadic posting. Here's a glimpse back at my first blog post ever!

Write Hard and Pray Harder!: Welcome To My Blog!:     Hi!!!!    If you're reading this, then chances are that you've read one of my books. If not, that's okay, don't worry ab...

Pompeii

 I’d grown up reading this history picture book about Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Herculaneum, and the eruption of 79 A.D. So taking a day trip down there was awesome. Walking the streets of the uncovered ghost town, I felt like I’d been there before. Clearly, those books were well written! 

The city was much larger than I’d pictured, going all the way to the mountain range in the background. They’re still uncovering parts of the city, so if you’re interested in archeological digging, you still have a chance. 

Being buried under feet of ash and rock, most of the rooftops had collapsed, but so much of the city was still preserved. 

Pompeii was originally built in B.C. by the Greeks, and here, you can see the difference between the Greek and Roman pillars. The Roman ones tend to display different kinds of marble. Going through Rome I was surprised at how many kinds of marble there are! 

But these Greek pillars, tended to be different shapes. In the foreground, you can see the inside of their pillars, and the background shows what they look like after they’ve plastered them. 

Another Greek/Roman difference, is the Greeks liked bronze. These benches in the baths, are the original bronze built by the Greeks, in the other room of the baths, you can see the marble benches. You’ll also notice the mosaic floor. Another one of those things that’s been there for over 2,000 years and hasn’t been wrecked so you’re free to walk all over it. If it’s survived that long, it can survive you. 

Pompeii’s road system was impressive, they even had road blocks at the ends of the pedestrian streets so chariots and carts couldn’t enter. 

This mosaic of a dog on a chain is the equivalent of our “Beware of dog” signs. 

This bakery had four different kinds of grain grinder stones. I’m not sure if they were for different kinds of grains, or for different varieties of coarseness, but they were pretty neat. 

I thought this picture was unique, because you have this ancient city in the background, green trees, and a Christmas train. It’s hard to think Christmas when it’s in the 60s. 

This bakery had an awesome oven system. They found bread still in some of the ovens when they uncovered the city. Those round holes were built into stone, and they’d put pots in there to keep liquids cool. 

They had raised stepping stones in many places across the pedestrian streets so that when heavy rains came, and the streets were flooding, you could cross the street without getting your toga wet. 

The rocks used for the roads was a volcanic rock. You can still see marks in the rock from an earlier eruption. It’s erupted about 3 dozen times since then, with its most recent eruption in 1944. You can find videos on YouTube of the eruption caught on camera by American soldiers who were there for WW2. 

This softer rock has deep indents from the metal rimmed wheels. 

There were a lot of temple things preserved, including a sculpture of Zeus. Honestly, studying the city was like studying Sodom and Gomorrah. Right down to the raining of fire and brimstone. 

Mt. Vesuvius had clouds hanging over the top all day, and almost looked like it was smoking.

This was the gladiator trading ground right by the arena. 

The white seats in the arena are marble, and they found documentation with the price of different seats, with the marble one’s being the most expensive.

This is one of the original Greek roads with the volcanic rocks. 

The shops in Pompeii all had sliding doors that they could lock up at night. You can still see all the tracks. 

This castle was actually in Naples, and was a soldier’s fortification but I don’t remember what year it was built… I think 15th century? 

Part of the time, the cloud hanging over the mountain reminded me of Mt. Sinai.

Roman Architecture

 Walking through Rome, is like walking through a museum. Everywhere you go, there’s ancient history. 

This is at the Trojan Markets. 

Titus’s Arch has significance if you’ve read For the Temple by G. A. Henry. 

The ancient city walls are still there, and it was odd seeing cars driving through them. 

There were a lot of unique building designs. 

The Colosseum floor was mostly removed so you can see beneath where the cells were. 

This is the ceiling in our hotel hallway. Everywhere you go, there’s artwork. 

This is the church we attended on Sunday. It was fun going to an English service after a few days of only Italian. 

Even our hotel room ceiling was painted. 

Have you ever wondered why half the Colosseum is missing? I assumed it was war damage, but it wasn’t. Turns out, when they were building St. Peter’s Basilica, they needed more building materials, so they looked at the colosseum, and decided that since no one was using it, they might as well. They left the complete wall that faced the main road, and started taking materials from the rest of it. 

I loved staying at a hotel with real keys for the rooms! It’s one of the oldest hotels in Rome, and is family run. It was a real gem! 

Notice the pockmarks in the colosseum walls? Again, not war damage. It’s the result of marble being removed, and other brace bars to be used at other locations. 

This is the front of the Basilica across from our hotel. It might not look huge, but there are two huge domes on the other side of it that you can’t see from the front.