Sunday, November 27, 2016

Thanksgiving and Pompeii exhibition in Kansas City


Relaxing at Steve's sister's place during the Thanksgiving holiday.  These two fluffy Samoyeds were visiting while their humans were away for a few days.


Of course, Luna, one of Sue's dogs, can't stand when the other dogs are getting all the attention, so she had to join in.


Part of the Thanksgiving feast!


Relaxing after dinner. 



Before heading home on Friday, we went downtown to Union Station to see an exhibition of artifacts from Pompeii.  


Union Station was the old train station in Kansas City, and was built back in the days before air travel, when cities tried to show off their prosperity to visitors by building the biggest and most beautiful train station.


Like many of the old train stations, Union Station is no longer used for train traffic, but has been restored and remodeled into a shopping and entertainment center.  At one end of what was originally the grand hall, where people would wait for their trains, Christmas decorations have been set up, including a small train for kids to ride.


In the entertainment section of the station, the Pompeii exhibition recently opened, featuring artifacts and pictures from the city, buried in 79 C.E . by Mt. Vesuvius.



From the pictures & videos on display, it looks like much of this beautiful city has been uncovered and partially restored.


These are some of the small statues recovered from the city after almost 2,000 years.  They are in amazing condition, and are beautifully detailed.


Many home decorations from the city were on display.  Houses of the wealthy were adorned with beautiful wall murals and floor mosaics.


A water basin and statue from a home's courtyard.


Some of the recovered glassware & pottery, still in usable condition. 


These are a few of the theater masks.


A statue of the Roman emperor, Caligula, found in the city.


Near the end of the exhibit were some of the more gruesome displays.  Cavities formed in the layers of ash and dust where people were buried by the volcano.  During excavation, when archaeologists found these cavities, they filled them with plaster to make castings left by the bodies.  Some of these cavities were so detailed that folds in the person's clothes can be seen in the castings. 


It was a terrible end for the city's inhabitants.


Humans weren't the only ones killed in the eruption.  Pets and farm animals were also found.


Can you guess what kind of building this is?


This is the outside of the parking garage for the public library in downtown Kansas City, MO.


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