5 Unusual Facts you might not know about Pompeii

Pompeii is the biggest archaeological site in the entire world, famous for its catastrophic ending by the volcano Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Despite its fame, the city still has some fascinating secrets hidden within. Here is our list of the most unusual facts about the ancient city of Pompeii.

They had no word For ‘Volcano’

The story of Pompeii’s demise becomes even more tragic after historians discovered the Pompeii citizens had no knowledge of what the nearby Vesuvius actually was. Having no knowledge of any volcanos, the city merely thought it was a large mountain. The actual word ‘volcano’ wasn’t invented until the 1610s, with the word derived from “Vulcan,” the Roman God of Fire.  

Citizens had great teeth

When Pompeii was rediscovered and excavated in the 1800s, the skeletal remains of the citizens were revealed. These remains held vital information of these ancient beings, showing cause of deaths, their customs, as well as their physical attributes. Examiners found that all the citizen’s sets of teeth were excellent for that time. The reason suggests it was due to their good diet, which was rich in fresh food, as well as the high levels of fluorine due to the volcano.

Brothels were everywhere

Throughout the excavation, archaeologists have discovered 25 brothels scattered all over the city. There are numerous preserved erotic frescoes within the brothels which display the services in an illustrative menu. The largest and most preserved brothel found is the Lupanare. The name comes from ‘Lupa’ (she-wolf), which was slang meaning prostitute.

Graffiti was very common

Graffiti might be thought of like a modern-day disgrace, but historians have found hundreds of historic graffiti scattered within this ancient city. With tangible testimonies of the citizens everyday life, spanning from poetry to crude messages. These many different graffiti works depict how humans are actually quite similar throughout time, with messages and insults that could easily fit into our modern-day graffiti.

It was originally Greek

Pompeii is famous for its Roman city past, but it was actually, in fact, a Greek city before it became Roman. This can be seen by some of the oldest structures unearthed, which appear to be designed by ancient Greek settlers.

Check out our Pompeii & Mount Vesuvius Tour for your next holiday!