It's not just carbonized scrolls, there is a whole set of wooden items that have been uncovered at Herculaneum, the Roman city which, with Pompeii, was buried by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It's incredibly rare to have wooden items preserved for 2000 years, but there are a bunch.
When you consider that only a quarter of Herculaneum has been excavated, you have to wonder what else is waiting discovery.
One theory, due to written census records in other cities, theorizes most of the citizens escaped. Those that stayed were slaves, or servants, hired to stay with the homes. Until the rest of the city is excavated, that won't be proven, or not. That, and I wonder how much of the ancient city is under the newer structures built since that time.
ReplyDeleteFascinating.
ReplyDeleteThat was great!
ReplyDeleteI'm still struck, 20+ years later, by a small wooden carving, about a foot tall, and so incredibly detailed it was true to life, which I saw amidst a bunch of Egyptian artifacts on a museum tour locally. Dated prior to 2000 B.C., it was over 4000 years old.
ReplyDeleteEveryone should do arts and crafts with solid objects, at least occasionally.
You never know what might survive you into posterity thousands of years from now.
They cannot excavate more of Herculaneum because it is UNDER the current town. And yes, it is both amazing and chilling to walk those streets and realize that was the seaport before it was buried in ash. It also had running water, sewer system, and public baths. Also the first known use of blue tiles for decoration.
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