But… could they be figs? I’m doubting myself!

Garlic cloves and bread from a fresco originally from Herculaneum and now at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), Italy. Photo by Sophie Hay

Happy National Garlic 🧄 Day! Greeks & Romans loved garlic—but Mesopotamians loved it 1000s of years before them. The Greek ἄγλις (Latin alium) is an Akkadian loan word. At Pompeii, there was even a garlic seller (aliarii) workshop ( 📸 by @pompei79.bsky.social): pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpic...

The fact you tried cements our friendship.

Looking through one of the passages under the seating area into the arena and the seating on the far side. The statue in the foreground is of a (headless) female figure possibly that of the Goddess Fortuna.

View from the exterior of the amphitheatre at the arched passages (vomitoria) that would have provided access to the seating area. The brick and stone structure is dripping in plants. The arena can be seen on the left

Looking down one of the principal entrances to the arena along a brick and opus reticulatum block wall. The seating can be seen in the background on the left.

A Bourbon inscription on a red painted wall reading ANFITEATRO PUTEOLANO at the entrance to the site.

Just nosing around the neighbours’ amphitheatre. The Roman amphitheatre at Pozzuoli (Puteoli).

Detail of a fresco showing a dish of eggs and some dead birds hanging above it

Four near complete eggs sitting in a black dish

Happy Easter!
Life imitating art. Fresco of dish of eggs from the Praedia of Julia Felix, #Pompeii and an exhibit of eggs that astonishingly survived the AD 79 eruption in Herculaneum. 🥚🥚🥚

This was taken an hour before closing time so if you’re patient…
Hope you had a great visit.

They are just stepping stones for pedestrians and cart wheels could happily pass between them as shown by the wheel ruts we see scored into the road paving. So not pedestrianised streets at all nor to slow traffic (they weren’t moving fast on those paving stones!) but to just help pedestrians.

Accurate!

View up a deserted via Stabiana with a water tower on the right hand side, stepping stones at the crossroads and the shop and house entrances lining the road that leads to the outline of mount Vesuvius above which a large white cloud forms against a blue sky.

End of the day in #Pompeii

Thank you!

🤣

A white marble table leg in the form of a lion head and descending into a claw as the foot. The view is from above and since there is no table top the inscription of P. Casca Long can be seen engraved into the table top support.

View across an atrium of the so-called House of Casca Longus (he never lived here!). To the left a blue painted wall. In the centre-right an impluvium basin with a circular ceramic cistern head nearest to us on one side. On the far side the white marble tripod table support.

One of the most remarkable objects in #Pompeii is a marble table support with P. Casca Longus inscribed on it. Longus was the 1st assassin to stab Julius Caesar on #IdesOfMarch (today in 44 BC). On his death Longus’ possessions were auctioned & this table was bought by a Pompeian

It is. Very simple and respectful. They become far more human again in this space with the information available. A far cry from being perceived as ghoulish figures with no context.

View down the portico of the Grande Palaestra of the display cases housing the casts

One of the casts lying on his back. Behind him the Grande Palaestra is bathed in sunlight.

A reflection of one of the casts on display

A day filled with poignant reflection as the permanent exhibition dedicated to the plaster casts of ancient Pompeians opened in #Pompeii.
At last they are given context: where, when and how they were found, what they were found with, and details such as their sex and approximate age.

Very kind of you! Thank you. Unfortunately my PhD is not yet published but consider yourself spared from a rather intense/dull account of analysing wall construction and identifying Roman DIY!

Schließung des Instituts für Archäologie an der HU-Berlin Die Archäologie gehört seit fast 200 Jahren zur wissenschaftlichen Tradition der Humboldt-Universität. Ihre Schließung bedeutet den Abbruch einer gewachsenen Forschungstradition und eine dauerhafte Sc...

Please support the petition against the planned #closure of #Archaeology at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Archaeology has been a part of Humboldt-Universität academic tradition for almost 200 years, so closing it would break a long-standing research tradition

weact.campact.de/petitions/sc...

Hooray! Hope you have a wonderful visit.

Weather can absolutely influence whether you enjoy a site or not and I’m sorry you’ve only seen Pompeii in the extremes. Normally it’s a very well behaved and utterly beautiful site!

The view up a back street of pompeii leading from left to right and ending with a white travertine public fountain. The sky is blue and the few puffy white clouds seem lined up in an oblique line to mirror the perspective of the road

Such a perky little day to be on site. #Pompeii

Something I am grateful for every day.

View of Vesuvius looming over the Porta Nocera gateway of Pompeii with the paved road wending its way into the city. Above clouds gather and lit bright orange melting into shades of pink. The same hues illuminate the stones of Pompeii

Close up of the Nocera gateway into Pompeii drenched in pink lighting. The same hues seen on the clouds above Vesuvius in the background

No light quite like that produced against gathering clouds after a day of sunshine. The pinky-hues drenching the road paving and walls of Pompeii are magical.

Incredibly exciting to watch this room being fully revealed. I adore the almost romantic pairing of peacock to peahen - I would have put money on there being two more peacocks. Brilliant.

Pretty darn gorgeous!

Fragments of fresco retrieved during excavations of one the peahens striding along the yellow cornice against a backdrop of a colonnade.

Two excavators digging the other half of the peacock room in Oplontis. Behind them the facing wall being revealed and the fresco that mirrors the known wall coming to light. One of the peahens can be seen in situ on the the left side above a panel of bright red.

The excavation site from above showing where the excavators are working in the foreground in relation to the known half of the peacock room behind the hoarding in the background.

The peacock from the well known peacock room in Oplontis. It stands on the yellow cornice with its tail draped over the edge. Behind it the colonnade painted in perspective.

An undeniably emotional experience seeing the other half of the ‘peacock room’ in Oplontis being excavated and meeting their counterparts: the two peahens that graced the facing wall. What a delightfully playful idea by the artist.
Compliments to my colleagues, excavators & conservators. Spectacular

Totally Chaotic History: Roman Britain Gets Rowdy Tue 17 Feb 2026, 3pm Be astounded by unbelievable and hilarious facts as bestselling author Greg Jenner takes us on a riotously fun journey through Roman Britain Www.southbankcentre.co.uk

For half-term, next Tuesday I’m doing a fun kids’ event at @southbankcentre.bsky.social in London — I’ll be doing a funny talk on the history of Roman Britain, and my ace illustrator @rikinparekh.bsky.social will do a live draw-along tutorial

Tix cheap!

www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/tot...

Awww, thank you! It was such a lovely experience, in spite of the searing heat, with Alice on site.

Thank you. Happened to be passing…

You do! In fact I was trying to look some of the boats up and failed to find them in a couple of go-to sources. Strange.

A sliver of light illuminates the ribbed stucco relief of the barrel vault and decorative cornice as well as a small patch of the red plaster and a decorative pilaster. The rest of the room is shrouded in darkness.

A chink of light falls across the wall of the caldarium (hot room) in the women’s section of the Stabian baths in #Pompeii.