This section of the Museum shows us the environment in which the first researchers began their work. A path through five exhibitions will allow us to relive the wonder experienced by these first archeologists.
The route starts with the reconstruction of a well, discovered quite by accident, with such a richness of marble that it caused great excitement for the excavators: as we pass by, a movement of our hands will cause the water to move.
From the pitchers on the right we will hear some fragments of Plato’s comedies, as they were performed in the theater of Ercolano, where huge vases of terracotta were placed under the stage to amplify the voice of the actors.
If we lightly touch the screen just past the pitchers, it will be possible to brush away the “virtual ash” and discover some of the frescos and of mosaics of Pompeian houses.
Going further along the path we will see an evocative animation in 3D showing us the stateliness of Villa dei Papiri. A rumble will introduce the video simulating the falling of the thick volcanic material which covered the Villa.
Next, another video will allow us to move through the underground passages used in the first stage of the excavations.
Pompei and Ercolano remained submerged under the volcanic ash of Vesuvio for many centuries. It was not until 1738 that a systematic excavation was started as a result of the efforts of Carlo III di Borbone. They started in Ercolano and ten years later moved to explore Pompei.
The technique they used at the beginning was based on the creation of underground shafts, used both for descending underground and for air supply.
The conditions of the work were very difficult and in some cases, as in Oplonti, the tunnels had to be closed and abandoned because of the mephitic air. Almost a hundred years passed before the technique of “excavation en plein air” was adopted: until 1828 the archeologists were like underground miners busy bringing history back to life.