Pompeii

For some reason, I went through serious blogger's block not too long ago. Well, now that I am back in the saddle, I am kicking myself for not blogging about certain things we have done so far during this school year.
I was able to set us up some AMAZING field trips so far and I am just sick that I didn't post about them (simply because I have high hopes of using this blog for my memory holder).
One of the most awesome places that we went to this year is our city's art museum. They were one of the few chosen museums in the WORLD to host some of the ruins of Pompeii. Two of the biggest things that struck me were:
#1. The Coins~ I kept staring at them thinking "these could have been the very denarii that were traded for our Lord". Because they sure could have been. I also had the same thoughts when I saw the perfume and oil holders....these could have been the ones that were used to anoint Him....Honestly, it is really too much to put into words to see these artifacts.
#2. They had the actual cast made from this pile of people who were trying to escape the volcano's fury. They made it as far as the shoreline, only to be suffocated to death. These people were gripping all of their coins, jewelry....and their little gods. No kidding. They were holding these little statues that were no bigger than 3 inches tall along with their little pedestals (we were able to view the actual pieces later in the exhibit). As I stared at them, I thought "These people put their faith in these things. They believed they could save them, and they are no better than the junk you would find at a yard sale." It broke my heart when I stood there face to face with one.
On a different note, it is truly a miracle how well preserved this city was. The way all of the ash and other stuff piled up and packed around everything completely preserved it. Where their were people, there remained pockets of air that they poured plaster into (this process took place in the 1800's). It was packed so tightly around them, that even the finest detail was noticeable. On one person, you could even make out their eyelashes! Words alone cannot describe it.
If you live even remotely close to here and have the opportunity to take your kids to this...GO!
If not, this is really an awesome piece of history to study. They have some great documentaries out there which fascinated my kids before we even went to the exhibit.
I may come back and put a few more posts up about our field trips so far, but I HAD to get this one up here before my brain lost it for good.