Original subtitles

Bettany: Pompeii, a unique ancient roman city trapped in time.

In the space of a single day and night,

Close on 2000 years ago, this whole place was devastated by

What has to be one of the most infamous volcanic eruptions in

The whole of human history.

It was horrific.

But it also preserved one of the most astonishing treasures

From the ancient world.

I am professor bettany hughes.

I'm a historian and I spend my life traveling the world to

Investigate the stories of the cultures and civilizations of the past

And I love having the chance to share what I found with you.

(theme music plays).

Last time in our top ten treasures of pompeii,

We counted down from number ten to number six.

At number ten we jumped into the virtual world of abundance street.

Oh my god.

At nine, I met the ferocious cave canem mosaic.

It's almost identical.

Number eight.

We popped into the iconic stabian baths.

In number seven, we rubbed shoulders with the people of

Pompeii at the forum.

At six we met the extraordinary resin lady.

And in search of my next treasure,

I'm heading just outside pompeii's gates where there is

Something wonderful and wonderfully mysterious that

I want to show you.

It's my treasure number five.

This is one of the most beautiful villas in the whole

Of the city and it hides something truly wonderful.

I absolutely love this treasure because it allows us to step into

The secretive underground world of the roman elite.

The treasure's hidden at the back of the house and it was

Only meant to be seen by special selected guests.

So, um, I know where it is though so keep following me

And I'll show you.

And here it is, one of the greatest surviving artworks

From the whole of roman civilization and

My treasure number five.

The world-famous fresco at the villa of the mysteries.

Oh my goodness.

I have to say whenever I come here I am completely

Blown away by this thing.

Um, it's partly because of its pure beauty but it's also

Because of its pure power.

Covering every inch of these walls,

This painting is packed full of life-sized figures.

Really unusual in a fresco, making it not just priceless

But truly one of a kind.

This is really, really, really high-quality work.

I mean, the most expensive kind.

And we know that for a few reasons.

One is the color.

So it's this beautiful pompeian red that was a

Very, very expensive pigment.

What really strikes you is just how vivid and rich

This red still is.

And the secret to this fantastic color lies in its science.

Luckily, some pots of this original pigment survived the eruption

And luigi has invited me back to his lab to take a look.

Hi.

Bettany: Lovely to see you. Lovely to see you again.

I'm particularly interested in the pompeian red,

'cause you see so much of it and it's there in the

Villa of the mysteries.

Do you have some of that here as well?

Bettany: Luigi has hidden in here some rather magical paint supplies.

Bettany: Whoa. Ah.

Bettany: Yes, of course.

For years how the ancient romans made this eye-catching

Red color, nicknamed pompeian red, remained a mystery.

Until scientists made an unexpected discovery.

The most expensive paint was made from an unusual volcanic

Rock called cinnabar found in the mountains of Spain.

The romans would crush it into a powder to make the pigment

But unfortunately, this mysterious rock also contains

Something much more sinister.

I know that, um, a lot of the red pigment actually,

Um, had mercury sulphide in.

Which is really, really, really poisonous.

Actually it's really tragic.

We know that because the, um, the painters and the craftsmen

Who mixed this up used cinnabar so much,

Particularly in places like the villa of the mysteries,

They would have been poisoning themselves basically because

Mercury is incredibly toxic.

It's so incredible getting the chance to hold this.

You really do feel close to, to the men and probably some

Women as well, uh, female craftspeople,

Who used this to kind of create that beautiful art that we see.

It's just such a privilege.

It's such a privilege to get close to it.

Slightly nervous of dropping this on the lab floor...

So, um, is it okay if I put this down here?

Luigi: Si.

Bettany: Okay. Thank you. Great.

There we are. Ah.

So the last time this was, you know,

Properly held and cherished was close on 2,000 years ago.

This was the most expensive paint in the roman world.

35 times the price of most other paints and used in only

The most exclusive houses.

But it isn't just the color or the cost,

Which makes this painting really stand out for me.

Another reason this is really special is I don't think we

Were ever supposed to see any of this.

Um, and frankly what's going on is really pretty weird.

You've got one woman there who's probably just about to

Unveil a giant phallus, believe it or not.

Uh, there's a winged lady up there whipping probably this

Woman over here who's collapsed into the lap of a

Friend of hers.

And this is probably the same woman who's then kind of

Rising up ecstatically and clanging her castanets together.

It is totally, totally wild.

It feels as though I'm being allowed to witness a forbidden

Moment in time as this fresco is showing us pompeii's real

Women being initiated into a secret orgiastic cult.

The romans worshipped many different gods and the

Pompeian's, thanks to the fertile vine growing slopes of

Vesuvius, were particularly obsessed with one.

Bacchus the god of wine.

And it's totally appropriate that bacchus is being honored

In this way here because wine was really,

Really, really popular with the pompeiians.

Everyone, from the lowliest slave to the grandest emperor,

Drank wine in the roman world.

They drank it like it was water,

Knocking back on average a bottle a day.

But the owner's passion for wine didn't stop with this fresco.

A wooden wine press was also discovered in the ruins of the home.

Clearly, this family weren't just drinking wine and

Painting tributes to it, they were making it too

Right in their house.

To find out how they did this, I've come to the ruins of a

Roman villa still be excavated,

Which has the same passion for winemaking.

These are new excavations and one of the things that were

Discovered was this amazing row of amphorae,

Of huge pots that would have had wine in them and each one

Of them contained around 40 liters of wine.

That's enormous amounts being produced just by

One villa, by one estate.

And it helps you imagine what life was like in the

Villa of the mysteries.

Where you've got this super posh house and then you're

Producing wine right in it, right,

Right next to where you're living.

It's no wonder that the owners painted this fantastic tribute

To everybody's favorite tipple.

Not only did wine make them relaxed but also fabulously rich.

This fresco deserves to be a treasure because not only is

It truly exquisite, but it lifts the veil on pompeii's

Beliefs and their drinking habits.

And there's real bonus because it shows us what some pompeian

Women did to go a bit wild and literally let their hair down.

I'm counting down our top ten treasures of pompeii.

On my journey through the city I'm exploring how the

Devastating eruption of mount vesuvius in 79 ad preserved

Intimate details of the everyday lives of its

Inhabitants, allowing us to piece together exactly what

The ancient romans got up to, the food they ate,

The houses they lived in and of course in one particular case,

Where and how they had sex.

Which leads me to my next rather risqué treasure

In our countdown.

At number four, it's the lupanare brothel.

There are actually around 25 locations in pompeii that we

Think would have been used as brothels but this is

The most famous one.

This is the lupanare, the she wolf's den.

The infamous lupanare is the oldest surviving purpose-built

Brothel in the roman empire.

When it was first discovered, the early excavators were so

Shocked by what they found here,

They sealed it off from the public for a whole century.

In its day there'd have been a lantern lit here and hanging up

To prove that this place was open for business.

Uh, we don't need that now 'cause this is one of

Pompeii's most popular attractions but I have got

Special before hours access.

Bettany: Buongiorno. Perfect. Gracias.

Bettany: Thank you. Thank you.

Um, I should just warn you that this is a treasure not

Because it's grand, it's actually really pretty basic

Inside but it's a treasure because it tells us an

Incredible amount about people who are normally

Written out of history.

Bettany: The simple layout just off one of pompeii's main

Streets, reveals this wasn't a high-class joint.

The women of the lupanare were slave girls.

Under the command of their masters,

They would have spent much of their lives awaiting clients

In these tiny windowless rooms.

The first thing that really strikes you are these horribly

Uncomfortable looking stone beds.

Um, there are ten in total here, five downstairs.

You know, I actually hate coming here because there are

Descriptions of brothels from the time and they're described

As filthy and hot and humid and it still is here today.

And, kind of, as soon as you come in,

It just all feels very grim.

Forced to work for hours a day,

The slave girls rarely left the lupanare.

Recent evidence shows they ate simple food here,

A kind of vegetable stew.

And when they were allowed out,

They had to wear man's toga to mark them out from other

Respectable women.

The dark, stinking rooms at the lupanare catered to

Pompeii's poor, market traders,

Sailors passing through its bustling port and even male slaves.

Because the girls were illiterate,

They left no record of their lives here.

But amazingly we do know of some of their names thanks to

The hundreds of intimate messages scrawled on the walls

By their clients.

Abiah, nika and januaria

Were clearly three of the most popular girls.

There's graffiti everywhere and you can read loads of it.

Um, so I don't know if you can make this one out,

So this one, for instance, says...

(speaking italian).

Uh, which means, um, that the men of puteoli,

Which is a nearby imperial port, uh,

Their kind of their great go men, you're fantastic.

The graffiti reveals the cost of a visit to the lupanare was

As little as two ass, enough to buy a couple of glasses of

Pompeian wine if you were lucky.

And of course, being slaves, the women here wouldn't have

Seen a penny of that despite the risks they faced earning it.

Std's were sadly very common in the ancient world and

Whereas today we might have used antibiotics,

In roman pompeii,

The only treatment was milk and honey or chicory.

So catching one could be a death sentence.

And for the girls, disease wasn't the only risk.

When they were excavating they found lots of bottles of

Vinegar, which are used as a natural contraception.

So you can just imagine what the girls here were going through.

While the owner of the lupanare clearly didn't care

Much about the working conditions of the girls,

They did attempt to give the brothel a veneer of class.

Even in this very humble treasure,

The romans are using art to make a good impression.

So if you have a look, above every room there's really

Beautifully painted little frescos,

Uh, all with the same theme.

It's a bit like a kind of, ancient roman kama sutra.

Actually, these paintings show us something really interesting.

And in this fresco, there's this woman.

She's got this lovely little, kind of,

Blue bra strapped round her breasts.

But bras were worn by upper-class women.

I think there's a simple reason why they're shown here.

Okay. So, um, what you're looking at here is a fresco from

One of the really posh villas in pompeii.

What you should notice is what the woman is wearing.

So she's got one of those same bras on.

And we actually know from literary sources that it was

Considered very respectable for a well-born,

A well to do roman woman, to keep her bra on even when she

Was having sex.

I mean, god only knows why, it must have been really

Uncomfortable, but it was the thing to do.

So isn't that interesting that the fresco images of the girls

In the brothel have also got their bras on?

Is it that the owner is trying to pretend that he's running a

Really high-class joint?

Or it could be that the clients there were being

Encouraged to fantasize that they were actually making love

To a well to do, aristocratic roman lady.

Thinking about these high-class women might have

Distracted clients from the bleak, filthy reality

Of the lupanare.

Of all the treasures I've encountered so far,

The lupanare has given me the greatest insight into

The poor of pompeii.

From the hardships faced by the workers of the lupanare to

The fantasies of the lower-class men who visited it.

The lupanare brothel of pompeii is one of our top ten

Treasures because it gives us a rare and really valuable

Insight into the lives of not just of the rich but of the

Poor here and not just the pleasures but the pain of

Living in the ancient roman empire.

The girls and boys who lived here would have had

Absolutely nothing, no possessions whatsoever.

So I really like to imagine that when the disaster started

To strike, they just got up and fled.

And maybe, just maybe, some of them survived.

From the grit of pompeii's sex trade to the jewel in this

City's crown, the next stop on my journey through pompeii is

A true roman original.

When this amazing monument was first built,

It was a wonder of the roman world.

It was an unprecedented, state of the art entertainment

Facility for the lucky punters of pompeii.

It's treasure number three in our countdown of

Top ten treasures of pompeii,

The city's ground-breaking amphitheater.

This is a treasure you just can't miss.

It's actually the biggest building in the whole of pompeii.

It is a hugely impressive, jaw-droppingly amazing,

Open-air arena that could accommodate

Up to 20,000 people in a single day.

Originally called a spectacula,

As the first amphitheater to be built in stone

In the whole of the roman world,

This treasure of pompeii was truly innovative.

Oh I love coming to this place, um,

Just after dawn because you get to share it with all

The lizards as they're waking up.

It feels a real privilege.

Nothing captures what made the people of pompeii tick

Quite like this place.

The punters were here for blood, gore and machismo.

From animal hunts to the biggest draw of all,

The world-famous gladiator fights.

Where you got to sit depended on your sex and your social status.

Uh, so these seats down at the front were reserved for the

Elite, where it was thrillingly,

Sometimes dangerously, close to the action.

But as a non-elite woman, I'd have had to struggle all the

Way up here because women were relegated to the cheap seats

Right at the back.

Even the posh women were sent to sit up here.

Just like our arenas today,

You could buy fast food and drink from vendors

But this was entertainment with a dark heart.

Proof to romans and non-romans alike that this was a

Civilization that triumphed through fear,

Conquest and a kind of macho virility.

People came here to hang out and for the bars and to flirt

But they also came here specifically to see a criminal

Mauled to death by a wild animal or

Gladiators butchering one another.

I know I shouldn't judge; I know it's a different time

But it is really just sick.

In amphitheaters across the roman empire you could get

Anything from panthers to elephants being hunted

Here in the arena.

But I don't want to think about this place from the

Point of view the spectators, I wanna think about the people

Involved in the action.

Gladiators were always top of the bill and coming up

I'll discover the secret weapon that kept them alive in this arena.

And we reach my extraordinary treasure number two.

The home of wild animals and butch gladiators,

Is the magnificent amphitheater of pompeii.

The atmosphere down here must have been petrifying,

Highly charged.

Imagine 20,000 people yelling and stamping above your heads

As gladiators waited for their moment of glory.

(cheering).

Forget emperors. Forget generals.

Gladiators were the names on everyone's lips.

They were the celebrities of the roman age.

In fact, they were so popular and they were worth so much money,

That nine times out of ten they didn't actually die

In the arena sands here.

Almost everything possible was done to physically keep them alive.

The walls here would have been covered with painted posters of the gladiators,

Just like rock stars and premier league footballers today.

Roman graffiti found in pompeii shows just how popular they were,

Not just with the men but with women too.

(speaking italian).

Celadus the thracian makes all the girls moan.

Um, it's, uh, pretty clear what they were boasting about.

In fact, gladiators got such a reputation for their success

With the ladies that brides would smear their hair with

Gladiator blood, convinced it would make them fertile.

Clearly, top gladiators were worth looking after.

The gladiators were taught to fight skillfully and to draw

Lots of blood but actually, we only have records of six

Gladiators who died here in pompeii,

Although that is six too many if you ask me.

So, their life expectancy wasn't as low as you might

Expect from this bloody sport.

Recent research analyzing the bones of gladiators and

Studying ancient recipe books has revealed how a healthy

Diet was key to how they stayed alive.

I'm meeting gioacchino nocera, a local chef, to find out more.

Hi. Bettany.

Gioacchino: Hi. Bettany: Hi.

Gioacchino: Ciao, bettany. Bettany: Ciao. Ciao. Nice to see you.

Gioacchino: Nice to see you.

Bettany: Well, this is very exciting.

Um, gioacchino has, uh, learnt a recipe...

For... This is the, this is the soup that the gladiators would have eaten?

Gioacchino: Yes.

In the pan, olive oil.

Bettany: Yes.

Gioacchino: Celery, onion and carrot.

Bettany: Yes.

Gioacchino: They become a little bit brown.

Bettany: Yes.

Gioacchino: When they are ready we put all the grains.

Bettany: We've got lentils...

Gioacchino: Yes. Different kind of lentils, yes.

Bettany: Beans, like fava beans.

Oh this is brilliant.

So I'm being given an ancient roman cookery lesson here.

And it's really interesting this,

Um, because, I don't know, when you think of gladiators,

You often imagine them as being, kind of,

Pumped up meat-eaters like the, sort of,

You know, gym boys today.

But that appears to be not the case at all.

And for once 'cause I'm, 'cause I'm vegetarian...

Gioacchino: Yes.

Bettany: So I don't, I don't eat any meat.

Gioacchino: Yes. This is a vegetarian recipe.

Bettany: But this, this is fascinating,

Uh, the fact that gladiators are being given this soup.

This, kind of, vegetarian diet is actually quite fattening

'cause you're getting all your calories from carbs.

But they did that for a reason.

So that they have a fatty layer.

So when you get sliced with, you know,

A sword or a dagger or a spear,

Then you bleed a lot.

So that looks for the crowd that looks very impressive and

Bloody, this kind of gory spectacle.

Gioacchino: Yes.

Bettany: But you've got a layer of fat so actually

You're not slicing through to the muscle and to the organs.

So you're more likely to survive the fight.

This is right?

Gioacchino: Yes. Yeah.

Bettany: And then go on and carry on and fight another day.

That is smelling very good already.

Imagine this and imagine this smell coming out of

Those kitchens in pompeii.

Gioacchino: Now we have the soup ready...

Bettany: Lovely. Gioacchino: For tasting.

Bettany: Lovely. Thank you.

I have to say this is pretty much what I eat the whole time

Actually anyway.

While I've been here, these amazing frescos have been

Uncovered in pompeii, which show just how effectively this

Diet could create a dramatic, bloody spectacle.

This special stew was like a superfood for the gladiators

And boy would they need it.

The longest show here went on for five days.

The amphitheater at pompeii is one of my top ten treasures,

Not just because it's the biggest monument in the city

But because it helps us understand what made the

Romans tick.

And the people who came here to the games fetishized and

Glorified macho aggression to such an extent,

They turned it into a brutal theatrical spectacle right here.

Bettany: From the brutality of the arena to something a bit

More refined, I've come to one of pompeii's poshest

Neighborhoods for my next treasure.

This district was the beverley hills of the roman world.

Only the super-elite could afford to live here and there

Are clues inside this house that link the owners to

Rome's notorious playboy, emperor nero.

Welcome to one of pompeii's most luxurious and,

Frankly, mega show off villas.

It's our treasure number two.

The jaw-dropping house of menander.

When archaeologists started digging here in the 1920s,

They had little idea of what lay in store under layers of

Volcanic rock.

An incredible house with more than 40 rooms.

So you're in for a treat.

This is no ordinary house, it's more like a

2,000-year-old party palace.

Let me show you around as we hunt for clues that link the

House to rome's wildest hedonists.

It's all about flaunting it.

I mean, look at this view.

Talk about a high impact entrance.

It's saying, I am fabulously wealthy.

It took six whole years to fully excavate this enormous house

And archaeologists became increasingly puzzled

As to who on earth could afford this lifestyle of luxury.

Two skeletons were found and next to them was,

Was just a little ring.

It wasn't anything particularly fancy.

But on it were written the words q poppaeus.

And brilliantly that gives us the name of the people

Who owned this place.

So quintus poppaeus was a wealthy man from a wealthy family.

So suddenly we can start to piece together the story of

The people who lived here.

The poppaeus family were extremely well connected and

One notorious member even married into rome's imperial family.

Poppaea sabina was the second wife of the pretty

Highly colored roman emperor, nero.

And all kinds of things were said about her.

Um, it was gossiped that she put golden shoes onto

The hooves of her mules.

That she bathed in ass's milk.

And even that she'd encouraged nero to murder his own mother

Because she was getting in the way of their passionate romance.

In fact, their relationship was so stormy,

It's even alleged by their many enemies that nero kicked

Poppaea to death in a fit of rage.

But in better times we know that poppaea loved pompeii.

She was born here and visited regularly and was renowned for

Her late-night partying, which in roman times,

Usually involved a feast.

And this house was equipped and ready with the largest

Dining room in the whole of the city.

It is really brilliant, isn't it,

To imagine poppaea enjoying a lavish banquet here.

But actually, there is something else.

When this place was excavated, something truly extraordinary

Was discovered.

Let me show you.

For centuries, buried deep in an underground cellar,

Lay a hidden treasure.

One of the most amazing finds discovered in pompeii and

It still exists in naples, in the city's museum.

And the kind people here have allowed me the rare privilege

Of a closer look at this extraordinary find.

Oh my goodness.

Prepare to be blown away.

What you're looking at here is an almost complete 118 piece

Set of silver dinnerware.

So this incredible thing was found in the house of menander

And it was wrapped in a canvas cloth inside something almost

Like a coffin-shaped box.

Uh, and isn't it incredible to think that this is what the

Inhabitants of the house would have used for their extra

Special, um, dinner parties.

So, I'll just show you some of the pieces.

I mean, it's so brilliant.

So look at this amazing thing.

Little pepper shaker, like we have pepper today.

It's exactly the same design, which is incredible.

There are delicate egg cups here.

And then probably the, kind of, pièce de résistance are up here,

Um, so these are the wine cups,

All decorated with these brilliant mythological scenes.

And I'll tell you what I just can't get out of my mind is

The fact that not only would the inhabitants of the

House of menander use these, but given that poppaea was the

Emperor nero's wife and we know that nero liked pompeii

Just as poppaea did, it is perfectly possible that the

Emperor nero could have wrapped his wild lips

Around that very cup.

It's quite a thought, isn't it?

And this priceless collection also tells us something

Important about the roman psyche, where extravagant,

Conspicuous consumption had its place, albeit,

Within the privacy of your home and behind closed doors.

The amazing house of menander is one of my treasures because

It's such a brilliant example of living roman high life

To the absolute max.

And it has the added advantage of having a connection to a

Really intriguing woman from roman history,

Who I like to think of as enjoying life here on her own

Terms, not just as the lover of an emperor.

Next up is our number one treasure of pompeii.

A heartbreaking story that gives us a whole new

Perspective on the tragic destruction of the city.

I've counted down my favorite ten treasures of pompeii.

Number five was the brilliantly boozy fresco

At the villa of the mysteries.

Totally wild.

In number four, we heard from the poor sex workers of the lupanare.

Number three, we visited a true roman original,

The amphitheater of pompeii.

At number two, we explored a party palace fit for an empress.

(sniffing).

Ah, I just couldn't resist.

And now, we've reached the end of my journey.

My number one treasure of pompeii.

When it comes to choosing my number one,

It's not the incredible mosaics,

Buildings and frescos that make pompeii so special,

It's something much more tragic.

Probably the most famous and also the most disturbing

Remnants of the eruption of vesuvius are the victims,

The people of the city.

Trapped in their final excruciating moments,

Each of these casts tells a story of the final seconds of

The individuals who lived here.

But there's one cast in particular that never fails

To break my heart every time I see it.

This young child is incredibly moving because he's a symbol

Of the truth of the appalling tragedy that happened here and

Of the lives that were interrupted and that's why he

Deserves to be respected and cherished as our number one.

The child was found in one of pompeii's grandest villas

Next to a man and a woman holding another small infant,

Most likely his family.

Doctor llorenç alapont has studied the toddler of pompeii

In detail and I hope he can shed some light on this little

Boy's short life.

So you've actually done a scan or an x-ray of the toddler?

Doctor: Yeah.

Bettany: Really?

Bettany: Gosh. But he's a young child really.

Bettany: But the x-rays also reveal clues about the boy's life.

The quality of his teeth and bones shows he had a good diet.

He'd probably grown up in the luxurious villa where he was

Found, cowering under the staircase.

And amazingly, it's possible to see clues on this little boy's

Body that show just how much his parents cared about him.

And what's that?

'cause I can see something on his neck.

I don't know if you can see this, he's got, um,

There's definitely something solid there.

Do you know what that is?

Bettany: A bulla was a locket given to roman boys when they

Were nine days old to protect them from evil spirits and

Other dangers.

But isn't that tragic that he's got, he's got his little

Protecting symbol but of course it hasn't worked.

But the story of this little boy doesn't end here.

Scientists now believe he can shed light on exactly how the

People of pompeii died in the eruption.

The crucial clue lies in a similar contorted positions of

His and his family's bodies, they all have their arms

Raised like a boxer.

And this boxer pose is seen in hundreds of other victims in pompeii.

Evidence suggests that most people,

Including the toddler, survived the first day of the disaster.

But then the eruption suddenly changed,

Unleashing a deadly new force that contorted its victims

Into the boxer pose.

And to find out what that is, I'm going up in this.

Man: Hi. Bettany: Hi. Hi.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Hello. Hello.

Alessandro: Hello. Bettany: Hi. It's bettany.

Alessandro: Nice to meet you. Alessandro.

Bettany: Yeah.

Great. Thank you, 'cause we're flying with the door off, are we?

With the door off?

Alessandro: Yeah. Bettany: Yeah, okay. Okay.

Bettany: Up here it's possible to see how eruptions from

Vesuvius have shaped the landscape and also how exactly

These eruptions killed the toddler and his family in 79 ad.

These steep, rocky outcrops point to one thing.

Pyroclastic flows.

Superheated avalanches of rock, ash and poisonous gas.

These toxic 500 degree clouds exploded down vesuvius's slopes.

Located six miles from the volcano's base,

The first three deadly pyroclastic flows

Failed to reach pompeii.

But then the fourth wave struck.

This enormous pyroclastic flow, three miles wide,

Scorched a path all the way to pompeii.

The direction that we're going now is exactly the

Same direction as the pyroclastic flow,

So particularly the one that killed so many people in pompeii.

We're following its exact route.

So it came out of the volcano like a kind of

Malign starburst and hit pompeii,

Which I can see straight ahead of me now.

From where I am now, a boiling cloud of gas hurtled out of

The volcano traveling at over 100 miles an hour and

Inundated the city.

Scientists believe it sucked water from the bodies of the

People in pompeii so rapidly, it caused their muscles to

Spasm into the iconic boxer pose.

The exact pose we see in the toddler and over half of the

Other victims in pompeii.

This devastating wave engulfed and obliterated pompeii and

Then tragically it came to a stop just a few hundred meters

Beyond the city walls.

Oh it's unbearable.

It's unbearable to see it.

Being up here is giving me a totally different perspective

On pompeii.

But it's also bringing me right up close to the

Biggest character in the story of the city.

My god.

I've studied this volcano for so long and I never thought

I'd see it from here.

It's actually making me feel slightly sick because you know

There's this terrible inequity of power between it and its

Eruption and the people of pompeii.

Oh my god. Actually, look at that.

Bettany: It is. I didn't think we'd be able to get this close.

I'm very glad you know what you're doing alessandro.

Bettany: I do remember.

Bettany: You have to think this volcano erupted in 79 ad.

It went off with the energy of 100,000 times that of a

Hiroshima bomb.

With nearly a million people living just nine miles from vesuvius,

Even a moderate eruption today would be devastating.

This is still considered the most dangerous volcano in the world.

We're aware of its threat and aren't allowed to get too close.

But the people of pompeii had no choice.

It's so worth us remembering the people and their pain.

That they really hoped they would have good lives here.

You've got the beauty of the sea beyond but they were

No match for vesuvius and its terrible, terrible power.

It's really hard.

It's really hard to look at that and think about them

And their suffering.

Fantastic.

Coming here and counting down the top ten treasures of this

Extraordinary city, I've experienced so much about

Pompeii and the people who called it home.

From their love of drink, fine dining and gory entertainment,

To their remarkable beauty rituals,

Toilet habits and sexual fantasies.

But what will stay with me forever is the appalling truth

Behind the tragedy that happened here.

And that is why the toddler, the symbol of everyone in

Pompeii who lost their lives, is my treasure number one.

We should never forget what a uniquely remarkable and

Uniquely tragic place pompeii is.

And perhaps that's why this whole town is a treasure.

Not just because of the insights it gives us to the

Roman world.

Not just because it reminds us to be interested in the past.

But because it reminds us to care.

To care about all the people we share this earth with even

If we're separated from them by thousands of years.

Captioned by cotter captioning services.