Up Pompeii

When a man trying to bore a well accidentally dug into the lava-buried remains of Pompeii in 1748, the King of Naples, Charles III, who considered himself keen on archaeology, subsequently thought nothing of removing artefacts and sections of frescoes from the Roman city to create himself an impressive personal museum. Attitudes to archaeology have developed by leaps and bounds since then, and form a major theme to a new exhibition opening at the Accademia Italiana Delle Arti E Delle Arti Applicate on April 1st, called Rediscovering Pompeii.

Sponsored by IBM UK Ltd, the exhibition is as much about the massive technological advances that have altered the course of archaeology over the past decade, as it is about the wealth of treasures that have been unearthed at Pompeii over the years.

Ultimately the exhibition aims to show how the artefacts, together with the computer programmes can give a truly broad picture of life in 79AD. Twelve interactive computer terminals have been set up to help visitors get a picture of the street plan and daily life of Pompeii as it was on August 24th, 79AD, the day that Mount Vesuvius brought disaster to the town's inhabitants.