Tourists walk past a thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, inside the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
Tourists walk past a thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, inside the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
A statue of a Faunus. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79AD.
A statue of a Faunus. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79AD.
The Mt. Vesuvius volcano towers over the remains of the ancient town of Pompeii in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
The Mt. Vesuvius volcano towers over the remains of the ancient town of Pompeii in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
Excavations are carried out inside the 'House of the Library' at Pompeii.
Excavations are carried out inside the 'House of the Library' at Pompeii.
A restorer performs deep consolidation of an unearthed wall.
A restorer performs deep consolidation of an unearthed wall.
A thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, is seen inside the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
A thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, is seen inside the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
Tourists walk inside the Pompeii site.
Tourists walk inside the Pompeii site.
A fresco is seen inside the kitchen of a house at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
A fresco is seen inside the kitchen of a house at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
A plastic bag contains tiles from a floor mosaic inside the House of the Library.
A plastic bag contains tiles from a floor mosaic inside the House of the Library.
A black and white floor mosaic shows the image of a guard dog and a script in Latin, which says 'Watch the dog'.
A black and white floor mosaic shows the image of a guard dog and a script in Latin, which says 'Watch the dog'.
The 'Leda and the swan' fresco is seen on a wall at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
The 'Leda and the swan' fresco is seen on a wall at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
Another fresco, this one depicting a poet.
Another fresco, this one depicting a poet.
Visitors look at the casts of some of the victims of the Vesuvius eruption.
Visitors look at the casts of some of the victims of the Vesuvius eruption.
A damaged mosaic.
A damaged mosaic.
'Leda and the swan' is seen on a wall of a ruined house.
'Leda and the swan' is seen on a wall of a ruined house.
A view of the Pompeii site through an archway.
A view of the Pompeii site through an archway.

Travel

Destinations

Pompeii: Italy's destroyed ancient city is experiencing a rebirth

The city was flattened centuries ago by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Associated Press

February 20, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

In a few horrible hours, Pompeii was turned from a vibrant city into an ash-embalmed wasteland, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in AD 79.

Then in this century, the excavated Roman city appeared alarmingly close to a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scant systematic maintenance of the heavily visited ruins. The 2010 collapse of a hall where gladiators trained nearly cost Pompeii its coveted Unesco World Heritage Site designation.

But these days, Pompeii is experiencing the makings of a rebirth.

Revelations and new discoveries

Excavations undertaken as part of engineering stabilisation strategies to prevent new collapses are yielding a raft of revelations about the everyday lives of Pompeii's residents, as the lens of social class analysis is increasingly applied to new discoveries.

Under the archaeological park's new German-born director, innovative technology is helping restore some of Pompeii's nearly obliterated glories and limit the effects of a new threat — climate change.

A fresco found inside the kitchen of a house at the Pompeii archaeological site. AP Photo
A fresco found inside the kitchen of a house at the Pompeii archaeological site. AP Photo

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, 41, an archaeologist appointed director general 10 months ago, likens Pompeii's rapid deterioration, starting in the 1970s, to "an airplane going down to the ground and really risking breaking" apart.

The Great Pompeii Project, an infusion of about €105 million ($120m) in European Union funds — on condition it be spent promptly and effectively by 2016 — helped spare the ruins from further degradation.

“It was all spent and spent well,” Zuchtriegel said in an interview on a terrace with Pompeii's open-air Great Theater as a backdrop.

But with future conservation problems inevitable for building remains first excavated 250 years ago, new technology is crucial "in this kind of battle against time," he said.

Challenges facing Pompeii

Climate extremes, including increasingly intensive rainfall and spells of baking heat, could threaten Pompeii.

“Some conditions are changing and we can already measure this,” said Zuchtriegel.

Relying on human eyes to discern signs of climate-caused deterioration on mosaic floors and frescoed walls in about 10,000 excavated rooms of villas, workshops and humble homes would be impossible. So, artificial intelligence and drones will provide data and images in real time.

Tourists walk past a thermopolium in Pompeii. AP Photo
Tourists walk past a thermopolium in Pompeii. AP Photo

Experts will be alerted to "take a closer look and eventually intervene before things happen, before we get back to this situation where buildings are collapsing,” Zuchtriegel said.

Since last year, AI and robots are tackling what otherwise would be impossible tasks — reassembling frescoes that have crumbled into the tiniest of fragments. Among the goals is reconstructing the frescoed ceiling of the House of the Painters at Work, shattered by Allied bombing during the Second World War.

Robots will also help repair fresco damage in the Schola Armaturarum — the gladiators' barracks — once symbolising Pompeii's modern-day deterioration and now celebrated as evidence of its revival. The weight of tons of unexcavated sections of the city pressing against excavated ruins, combined with rainfall accumulation and poor drainage, prompted the structure's collapse.

The great uncovering

Seventeen of Pompeii's 66 hectares remain unexcavated, buried deep under lava stone. A long-running debate revolves on whether they should stay there.

At the start of the 19th century, the approach was “let's ... excavate all of Pompeii,” Zuchtriegel said.

But in the decades before the Great Pompeii Project, “there was something like a moratorium — because we have so many problems we won't excavate any more,” Zuchtriegel said. “And it was almost like, psychologically speaking, a depression.”

His Italian predecessor, Massimo Osanna, took a different approach: targeted digs during stabilisation measures aimed at preventing further collapses.

The 'Leda and the swan' fresco on a wall in Pompeii. AP Photo
The 'Leda and the swan' fresco on a wall in Pompeii. AP Photo

“But it was a different kind of excavation. It was part of a larger approach where we have the combination of protection, research and accessibility,” Zuchtriegel said.

After the gladiator hall's collapse, engineers and landscapers created gradual slopes out of the land fronting excavated ruins with netting keeping the newly-shaped “hillsides” from crumbling.

Near the end of Via del Vesuvio, one of Pompeii's stone-paved streets, work in 2018 revealed an upscale domus, or home, with a bedroom wall decorated with a small, sensual fresco depicting the Roman god Jupiter disguised as a swan and impregnating Leda, the mythical queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy.

But if visitors stand on tiptoe to look past the marvellous fresco over the home's jagged walls, they'll see how the back rooms remain embedded under the newly “stabilised” unexcavated edge of Pompeii.

Nearby is the most crowd-pleasing discovery to emerge from the shoring-up project — a corner "thermopolium" with a countertop setup similar to the familiar salad-and-soup bar arrangements of our times.

A thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, is seen inside the Pompeii archaeological site. AP Photo
A thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, is seen inside the Pompeii archaeological site. AP Photo

This fast-food locale is the only one discovered with frescoes in vivid hues of mustard-yellow and the omnipresent Pompeii red decorating the counter's base — apparently advertising the chef's specialties and including a bawdy graffito. Judging by the organic remains found in containers, the menu featured concoctions with ingredients such as fish, snails and goat meat.

Quick street meals were likely a mainstay of the vast majority of Pompeiians not affluent enough to have kitchens.

Archaeologists have been increasingly using social-class and gender analyses to help interpret the past.

When they explored an ancient villa on Pompeii's outskirts, a 16-square-metre room emerged. It had doubled as the villa's storeroom and the sleeping quarters for a family of enslaved people. Crammed into the room were three beds, fashioned from cord and wood. Judging by the dimensions, a shorter bed was that of a child.

When the discovery was announced last year, Zuchtriegel described it as a “window on the precarious reality of people who rarely appeared in historical sources” about Pompeii.

Will Pompeii welcome the public?

This winter, an afternoon guided tour is offered at sites not otherwise open to the public. One such offering is the House of the Little Pig. On a wall of a tiny kitchen is a whimsical painted design of a pig's head with a prominent snout.

The park's ambitions stretch further: nearby Naples and its sprawling suburbs ringing Vesuvius suffer from organised crime and high youth unemployment, which drives many young people to emigrate.

So the archaeological park is bringing together students from the area's more elite institutions and from working class neighbourhoods who attend trade schools to perform a classical Greek play at the Great Theater.

“We ... can try to contribute to a change,” Zuchtriegel said.

There are also plans to create public strolling grounds in an unexcavated section of ancient Pompeii which, until recently, had been used as an illegal dump and even a marijuana farm

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Reputation

Taylor Swift

(Big Machine Records)

The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass

Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)

Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm

Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

RESULTS

Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)

Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)

Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)

Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)

Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)

Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)

Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)

Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)

Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)

Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”

Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.6-litre%2C%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E285hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E353Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh159%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

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Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

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MATCH INFO

Liverpool 3

Sadio Man 28'

Andrew Robertson 34'

Diogo Jota 88'

Arsenal 1

Lacazette 25'

Man of the match

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.

One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases. 

The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery. 

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Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder

Transmission: seven-speed S-tronic automatic

Power: 150bhp

Torque: 270Nm

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  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

RESULT

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

Results

5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m

Winner Spirit Of Light, Clement Lecoeuvre (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer)

6.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m

Winner Bright Start, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor

6.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 2,000m

Winner Twelfthofneverland, Nathan Crosse, Satish Seemar

7.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Imperial Empire, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

7.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m

Winner Record Man, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

8.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,600m

Winner Celtic Prince, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly

Updated: February 20, 2022, 11:51 AM`
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