In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the Roman city of Pompei. That morning, the residents heard rumbling noises from the earth, but they were not alarmed because, living in the shadow of the dormant giant Mount Vesuvius, they were used to the occasional tremors. The catastrophe began around 2pm according to the writing in a journal of an eyewitness Pliny the Younger.

Terrible and life-costing event that it was, the Pompei catastrophe helped preserve intact for posterity the remnants and artifacts of ancient Roman life which otherwise would have been completely lost to modern people.

Some findings at the Pompei excavation site show that human nature remains the same throughout the millennia and that the same human drama play out in social and communal life.

I was particularly delighted to find out that back in ancient Rome they used fermented fish sauce to flavor food just like in Vietnam.